Fort Pitt Grammar School 11 plus guide

About Fort Pitt Grammar School

Fort Pitt Grammar School is a selective state school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Chatham, Kent. The school is steeped in history and tradition, built on the site of a Napoleonic fort, but offers a modern outlook. Students are encouraged to make mistakes, take risks and overcome challenges in a culture underpinned by the core values of respect, success, aspiration, resilience and collaboration.

Students at Fort Pitt study a curriculum that is broad, deep and knowledge-rich. Students' options increase as they move throughout the school, with A level options including business, computer science, graphics, sociology and textiles. A whole-school reading strategy sees all departments widely promote reading within the subject area and for pleasure to encourage a life-long love of reading.

Fort Pitt Grammar School will become co-educational in 2024, under plans put forward by Medway Council. The proposed changes mean that 5% more children who pass the Medway Test could get a place at a grammar school in the area, resulting in a more equal split of boys' and girls' places.

• Address: Fort Pitt Grammar School, Fort Pitt Hill, Chatham, Kent ME4 6TJ

• Local authority: Medway Council

• School type: girls' grammar, becoming mixed from Year 7 (2024 onwards)

• Headteacher: Nicky Archer

• Number of pupils: 900+

• A level results: 50% A*–B

• GCSE results: 42% 9–7

Key info for Year 7 admissions

• Admissions contact: [email protected], 01634 842359

• Number of places in Year 7: 150

• Open events: TBC

• 11 plus registration opens: 1st June 2023

• 11 plus registration closes: 30th June 2023

• 11 plus exam date: 12th–13th September 2023 (or 16th–17th September for children not attending a Medway primary school)

• 11 plus exam type: Medway Test

• Common application form (CAF) deadline: 31st October 2023

• National school offer day: 1st March 2023

How to apply to Fort Pitt Grammar School

Fort Pitt Grammar School is an academically-selective school and accepts pupils based on whether they have passed the 11 plus exam. All six grammar schools in Medway use the same 11 plus exam, known as the Medway Test.

If you are considering grammar schools within either Bexley or the Kent local authority area, you will need to register separately. Grammar schools in these areas use different 11 plus tests and have different timetables.

• Find out about the Kent Test

• Find out about the Bexley Selection Test

1. Register for the Medway Test

Before you register your child for the exam, speak to their teacher to see if the Medway Test and a grammar school education are right for them.

Registration for the Medway Test will open on the council website on 1st June 2023. You will have until 30th June 2023 to complete your child's application.

By the end of August, you will receive a test invitation letting you know where and when your child is due to sit the test. If your child attends a Medway primary school they take the test at their own school on either Tuesday 12th or Wednesday 13th September 2023. If your child does not attend a Medway primary school, they will take the test on either Saturday 16th or Sunday 17th September 2023 at a local test centre.

2. Apply for school places

You will be sent your child's results on 3rd October 2023. If they have achieved the pass mark in the exam, they will be eligible for a grammar school place. You can then name Fort Pitt Grammar School as one of your preferred schools on your common application form.

Make sure to check the admissions policy for the school before you complete your common application form. Passing the Medway Test will not be a guarantee of a place as more children reach the qualifying standard each year than there are places available. We've summarised the key points in Fort Pitt Grammar School's admission policy below.

The application form must be submitted to your home local council by 31st October 2023. The form must be completed for your home local authority – i.e. if you live in Medway you will need to complete the form on the Medway Council website. If you live in a different local authority (e.g. Kent County Council), make sure to apply on the relevant council website.

How is the Medway Test scored?

Your child's test papers will be marked to provide 'raw' scores. The maths and reasoning marks will be based on the number of correct answers, while the extended writing piece will be marked against specific criteria.

The raw scores will then be standardised to ensure that children born later in the school year aren't disadvantaged.

A total weighted score will then be calculated for each child using this formula:

(Extended writing standardised score x 2) + (maths & non-verbal reasoning standardised score x 2) + (verbal reasoning standardised score x 1) = total weighted score

The total weighted scores will then be ranked in order.

What's the pass mark for the Medway Test?

The Medway Test is designed to select the 23% of children working at the top academic ability range in their year group. A further 2% of children can then be selected through a later review process.

There is no set pass mark for the Medway Test, as it can only be confirmed once the tests have been marked and the weighted scores ranked in order. However, in the last four years, the pass mark has consistently been between 480 and 490.

Achieving the minimum score doesn't guarantee a place at the school of your choice, as schools are often oversubscribed with qualified candidates. We always recommend researching the admission policies for your target schools, looking at their oversubscription criteria and their catchment area. We've included the key points from Fort Pitt Grammar School's admission criteria below.

Fort Pitt Grammar School admission criteria

There are 150 places available in Year 7 at Fort Pitt Grammar School for children who are deemed to be of selective ability by the Medway Test.

If the number of eligible children who apply to Fort Pitt Grammar School is greater than the number of places available, the school will apply oversubscription criteria. Places will be offered in the following priority order:

1. Children in public care ('looked after' or 'previously looked after' children)

2. Children who have a sibling already at Fort Pitt Grammar School

3. Children of Fort Pitt Grammar School staff

4. Children who live within 2 miles of the school

5. Children living in one of the school's named parishes (see below)

6. All other eligible children, allocated according to nearness of their home to the school

Fort Pitt Grammar School catchment area

The main catchment area for Fort Pitt Grammar School covers an area of 2 miles from the school site. Children who live within 2 miles will be prioritised for places according to criterion 4 in the admissions policy.

Children living within one of the school's named parishes will be prioritised next. The named parishes are Allhallows, Cliffe and Cliffe Woods, Cooling, Cuxton, Frindsbury Extra (including Wainscott and Upnor), Halling, High Halstow, Hoo St Werburgh (including Chattenden), St James Isle of Grain, St Mary Hoo, and Stoke.

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