Holcombe Grammar School

Chatham, ME4 6JB · Medway grammar school

Ofsted: Good Boys
Furthest distance offered (2025)
22.96 miles
Test board
Consortium: Medway Grammar Schools Consortium. No fixed qualifying score; grammar offer based on rank and available places

Ofsted judgement breakdown (2014-09-30)

Overall effectiveness
Good
Effectiveness of leadership and management
Good
Sixth form provision (where applicable)
Good

Oversubscription criteria

  1. Looked after — Looked after children and previously looked after children
  2. Medical social — Children with exceptional medical/social needs
  3. Sibling — Siblings of children on roll at the school
  4. Catchment — Children living in Medway (LA area)
  5. Other qualified — All other qualifying children (outside Medway) — tiebreaker: distance

What the entrance test covers

The Medway Test has three papers: 1. English — comprehension, punctuation and grammar (30 minutes). 2. Mathematics (50 minutes). 3. Reasoning — a combined paper with verbal, non-verbal and spatial reasoning components (about 45 minutes). Papers are multiple-choice and scores are age-standardised. There is no resit and no remarking of any Medway Test paper. Pass mark: there is no fixed pass mark. The aggregate score (maximum 700 — English and maths standardised scores double-weighted, plus reasoning) is compared to a threshold set fresh each year: the level that includes roughly the top 25% of Medway Year 6 children. The threshold is published with results in October; passing makes a child eligible, and each school's oversubscription criteria then apply. The Medway Test is completely separate from the Kent Test — a different test, different registration, different format (the Kent Test combines English & maths into one paper and includes an unmarked writing task). Chatham Grammar is the one Medway school that accepts either test.

University destinations

Oxbridge
4%
Russell Group
25%
Top-third university
29%
Any degree
80%

Of the 83-student 2019/20 leaver cohort, sustaining a higher-education destination the following year. This is the last cohort the Department for Education published with an Oxbridge/Russell Group breakdown — these categories were discontinued as official accountability measures after this release, so a more recent figure does not exist.

Data sourced from GIAS, Ofsted and official Medway admissions publications. Figures can change year to year — always confirm with the school before applying.

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