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The Skinners' School vs Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys

Both are grammar schools in Kent, 0.6 miles apart. Side-by-side on official DfE, Ofsted and council admissions data.

Side by side

The Skinners' School Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys
Phase Secondary Secondary
Gender Boys Boys
Pupils on roll 1,149 1,875
Free school meals 5% 5.5%
Ofsted rating Not published Not published
Attainment 8 — 2025/26 72.7 64.5
11+ test board GL Assessment GL Assessment
Admission system pass/fail then criteria order (score doesn't give priority after passing) pass/fail then criteria order (score doesn't give priority after passing)
Places offered — 202627 160 300
First preferences per place — higher means more competition for a first-preference place 1.45 0.99

Qualifying scores

The Skinners' School

332 out of 423 (2026 entry)

Aggregate ≥332 with no single paper below 108. County-wide Kent Test threshold: reaching it earns a 'suitable for grammar school' assessment, NOT a place — each school then applies its own oversubscription criteria, and super-selective schools (The Judd School, Skinners', Tonbridge, Dartford) fill in score order well above the threshold.

Council source ↗

Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys

332 out of 423 (2026 entry)

Aggregate ≥332 with no single paper below 108. County-wide Kent Test threshold: reaching it earns a 'suitable for grammar school' assessment, NOT a place — each school then applies its own oversubscription criteria, and super-selective schools (The Judd School, Skinners', Tonbridge, Dartford) fill in score order well above the threshold.

Council source ↗

Who gets priority

Where a school is oversubscribed, these are the first criteria applied, in order. This is usually what decides an application.

The Skinners' School

  1. Looked after and previously looked after children
  2. Up to 16 places for Pupil Premium boys in the West Kent Area (3 miles plus named parishes including Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks)
  3. Up to 108 places for other boys in the West Kent Area — first those 40+ marks above the Kent threshold, then other qualified boys; siblings, then sons of staff, then nearest first
  4. Up to 16 Governors' places for the highest Kent Test scorers in the West Kent Area not otherwise offered a place
  5. Up to 20 places for boys from outside the West Kent Area — 40+ above the threshold first; siblings, sons of staff, then nearest

Source: school admissions policy.

Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys

  1. Looked after and previously looked after children
  2. A brother attending the school when the child starts
  3. Health and special access reasons
  4. Boys living within 3 miles of the school — nearest first
  5. Boys living in the named parishes (including Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Southborough, Pembury, Edenbridge, Hildenborough and others) — nearest first
  6. All other boys — nearest first (straight line)

Source: school admissions policy.

Choosing between them

Both schools admit boys, so the decision usually comes down to the admission criteria above and how far each one reaches. The figures on this page are the published ones — they describe intakes and results, not what either school would be like for your child. The right choice depends on your family's own priorities and circumstances.

Full detail for each school: The Skinners' School · Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys
Or see all secondary schools in Kent ranked.

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