Highsted Grammar School 11 plus: 2024 entry guide

About Highsted Grammar School

Highsted Grammar School is a selective state school for girls, with a mixed sixth form, established in 1904 in Sittingbourne, Kent. The school has specialist status in science and sponsorship from Microsoft. Emphasis is placed on personalisation, proactive mentoring and pastoral care with the aim of liberating young women and developing self-starters.

The school aims for its students to develop their own passion for learning and has introduced a 'super-curriculum' across Key Stages 3, 4 and 5, where students are encouraged to pick activities from their favourite subjects to continue learning at home.

Highsted Grammar School is considered 'outstanding' by Ofsted and was featured in Her Majesty's Chief Inspectors' list of outstanding schools.

• Address: Highsted Grammar School, Highsted Road, Sittingbourne, Kent ME10 4PT

• Local authority: Kent County Council

• School type: girls' grammar with mixed sixth form

• Headteacher: Anne Kelly

• Number of pupils: 850+

Key info for Year 7 admissions

• Admissions contact: [email protected], 01795 424223

• Number of places in Year 7: 150

• Information evening: Thursday 22nd June 2023

• 11 plus registration opens: Thursday 1st June 2023

• 11 plus registration closes: Monday 3rd July 2023 at midnight

• 11 plus exam date: Thursday 7th September 2023

• 11 plus exam type: The Kent Test and optional Highsted Test

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

• National school offer day: 1st March 2024

How to apply to Highsted Grammar School

1. Register for the Kent Test

Highsted Grammar School uses the Kent Test to select pupils for entry in Year 7. The Kent Test is an 11 plus exam taken by 32 grammar schools in the county.

Registration for the Kent Test will open on Thursday 1st June 2023 and close on Monday 3rd July 2023 at midnight. You will be able to complete your child's registration on the Kent County Council website. If you are also considering grammar schools in Medway, you will need to register separately because these schools do not use the Kent Test.

Supplementary information form

Children who are looked after or previously looked after, or eligible for the pupil premium, may be prioritised for places under the school's admission criteria. If your child falls into one of these categories, you should complete a supplementary information form (SIF) to indicate this. The supplementary information form can be downloaded from the school website.

The Highsted Test

Highsted Grammar School also holds its own optional bespoke test, which can be taken in addition to the Kent Test. Girls who pass the Highsted Test will have equal status for a place in Year 7 as a pass in the Kent Test.

If you would like your daughter to take this additional test, you will need to register between 1st June 2023 and 3rd July 2023. The registration form will be available from the school office or to download from the school website

2. Apply for a school place

You will receive your child's results in the Kent Test after 4pm on Wednesday 18th October 2023. If your child has achieved the pass mark in the exam, they will be eligible for a grammar school place. You can then name Highsted Grammar School as one of your preferred schools on your common application form.

Before listing Highsted Grammar School as a preference on your form, check its admissions policy and make sure your child is eligible. Passing the Kent Test will not be a guarantee of a place as more children reach the qualifying standard each year than there are places available.

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 Kent you will need to complete the form on the Kent County Council website. If you live in a different local authority, make sure to apply through the relevant website for that council.

What is the pass mark for Highsted Grammar School?

Your child will receive four scores on the Kent Test. The results from the English, maths and reasoning sections will all be age-standardised to produce three separate scores, in addition to one overall (aggregate) score.

Children typically need a total score of 332 or more out of the total 423, with no single score lower than 108, to be eligible for a place at a grammar school in Kent.

The pass mark for the Highsted Test cannot be set in advance as it depends on the range of results that children achieve on the tests. As a guide, the children with the highest marks – within the top 25% of the cohort – will usually be successful.

Achieving a particular score doesn't guarantee a place at a grammar school, as schools are usually 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 admission criteria for Highsted Grammar School below.

Highsted Grammar School admission criteria

There are 150 places available in Year 7 at Highsted Grammar School. Before applying any oversubscription criteria, children with a Statement of Special Educational Need (SSEN) or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) who name Barton Court Grammar School will be allocated a place and the number of available places will be reduced accordingly.

If the number of children who have qualified for a place at Highsted Grammar School exceeds the number of places available, the school will prioritise places in the following order:

1. Looked after and previously looked after children

2. Children in receipt of pupil premium who live in the postcode areas ME9, ME10, ME11, ME12

3. Children with a sibling currently attending Highsted Grammar School

4. Nearness of the child's home to the school, measured in a straight line distance

Highsted Grammar School catchment area

Highsted Grammar School welcomes applications from children living in all areas. However, girls who live within the postcodes ME9, ME10, ME11 and ME12 will be prioritised for a place at the school.

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