About Dover Grammar School for Boys
Dover Grammar School for Boys is a selective state school for boys aged 11–18 with a mixed sixth form in Dover, Kent. It was founded in 1905 as the Dover County School and continued to grow over the last century. In 2022, the school moved to a new building boasting more light, space and excellent facilities.
Boys study a broad, balanced and personalised curriculum that offers a variety of choice. GCSE options include three languages and studies in computer science, media and sociology. Dover Grammar School for Boys is rated 'good' by Ofsted.
How to apply to Dover Grammar School for Boys
Dover Grammar School for Boys is selective, so your child needs to sit the 11+ test to be considered for a place.
You register your child for the Kent Test with Kent County Council during its registration window. Late registrations go to Kent County Council by email at kent.admissions@kent.gov.uk. The Dover Boys Test needs a separate registration on the school's online form. For 2027 entry the school's deadline was Friday 3 July 2026, and it didn't accept late forms.
Once you have your child's result, you apply by naming Dover Grammar School for Boys on your common application form, which goes to your home local authority. Application deadline: Sunday 31 October 2027. This is the national closing date. Kent County Council has in the past moved the deadline to the following Monday when 31 October falls on a weekend — it did so for 2027 entry, when the date moved to Monday 2 November. The council confirms its own closing date in its co-ordinated admissions scheme, usually published the year before. Treat 31 October as the date to work to, and check the council's scheme before you submit.
Reaching the qualifying score makes your child eligible, but it doesn't guarantee a place. If more qualifying children apply than there are places, the school uses its oversubscription criteria, set out further down this page.
What will my child be tested on?
The Kent Test is run by Kent County Council and used by the grammar schools across Kent, so your child only sits it once to be considered for any of them. Kent County Council says the tests in English, maths and reasoning are devised by GL Assessment.
There are two multiple-choice papers, and answers go on a separate answer sheet. The first is an English and maths paper lasting an hour. Each section starts with a 5-minute practice exercise, followed by a 25-minute test. The English section is a comprehension exercise plus questions on literacy skills. The second is a reasoning paper of about an hour, including practice, with verbal and non-verbal reasoning sections of roughly the same length.
Your child also completes a writing task. It lasts 40 minutes, including 10 minutes of planning. It isn't marked, but a local headteacher panel may read it as part of the headteacher assessment stage. Results give three standardised scores, for English, maths and reasoning, plus a total. Each score ranges from 69 to 141.
Dover Grammar School for Boys also runs its own Dover Boys Test, so boys can qualify through either test. The school's policy says it uses verbal and non-verbal reasoning tests, plus tests in English and maths set against Key Stage 2 targets. Whenever possible, it takes place on the Saturday immediately after the Kent Test. You register for it separately, using the school's online form, and confirmation letters with arrival times and a link to familiarisation material with sample questions go out by the end of July. The school hasn't published the length of each Dover Boys Test paper or its question formats on its admissions page, so we haven't described them here.
The table below shows what each paper covers.
