Schools near Surbiton
16 open schools in Surbiton, Kingston upon Thames · Ofsted ratings, catchment areas and admission criteria · see all Kingston upon Thames schools · grammar schools in Surbiton
Surbiton has 16 state schools: 10 primary, 3 secondary, part of Kingston upon Thames's wider catchment. 15 have a published Ofsted rating, and 12 of those are rated Good or Outstanding.
Undersubscribed schools rated Good or Outstanding
These schools didn't fill on first preference in the latest admissions year, despite an Ofsted rating of Good or Outstanding — worth a look if you're chasing the same handful of famous names everyone else applies to.
How places are allocated in Kingston upon Thames
Primary schools: Published criteria order (LAC, sibling, exceptional need, then proximity) has no catchment-area step. (source)
Most schools use the local authority's default scheme rather than a school-specific catchment map — see each school's page for its own designated/catchment area where one is published.
Surbiton straddles a council boundary: the scheme above is Kingston upon Thames's, and Surrey also has schools here, applying under its own.
Kingston upon Thames entrance test format
Each Tiffin school sets its own TWO-STAGE test (separate registrations and dates): Stage 1 — English and maths, partly multiple-choice, with elements similar to GL and CEM styles plus school-specific question types. Used as a screen: only high scorers are invited to Stage 2. Stage 2 — English and maths papers set by the school itself: comprehension, a writing task, and standard-format maths questions (written answers, not multiple-choice). Scoring (Tiffin Girls' published model): a Combined Mark weighted 60% English / 40% maths — the English mark comes solely from Stage 2, while the maths mark combines Stage 2 and Stage 1 results 3:1. Tiffin School (boys) uses a similar two-stage structure — check each school's current admissions page for exact weightings and dates.
Key dates
| Entry year | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Sept 2028 | Application deadline | 2027-10-31 |
| Sept 2028 | Primary application deadline | 2028-01-15 |
| Sept 2028 | Offer day | 2028-03-01 |
| Sept 2028 | Primary offer day | 2028-04-17 |
| Sept 2027 | Registration closes | 2026-09-01 (passed) |
| Sept 2027 | Test date girls stage1 | 2026-10-01 |
| Sept 2027 | Test date boys stage1 | 2026-10-02 |
| Sept 2027 | Stage2 invitation | 2026-10-16 |
| Sept 2027 | Application deadline | 2026-10-31 |
| Sept 2027 | Primary application deadline | 2027-01-15 |
| Sept 2027 | Offer day | 2027-03-01 |
| Sept 2027 | Primary offer day | 2027-04-16 |
| Sept 2026 | Application deadline | 2025-10-31 (passed) |
| Sept 2026 | Primary application deadline | 2026-01-15 (passed) |
| Sept 2026 | Offer day | 2026-03-02 (passed) |
| Sept 2026 | Primary offer day | 2026-04-16 (passed) |
Out-of-area applications
Kingston's two grammar schools — Tiffin School (boys) and The Tiffin Girls' School — each run their OWN two-stage entrance test with separate registration (an online Supplementary Information Form on each school's website, historically open June to 1 September of the year before entry). Both schools accept out-of-borough applicants, but BOTH operate a designated/priority admission area — most places go to children living inside it, so check the school's current admission-area map before relying on an out-of-area application. Stage 1 tests are sat in early October of Year 6 (later than most areas); qualifiers sit Stage 2 in November — note this means offers are decided AFTER the 31 October application deadline, so you list the school on your home LA's Common Application Form before knowing the result.
Have a specific question about admissions, scores or dates?
Ask SchoolsGPT