Rainham Mark Grammar School 11 plus guide

About Rainham Mark Grammar School

Rainham Mark Grammar School is a large selective school for boys and girls aged 11 to 18 in Gillingham, Kent. It has historically been the only co-educational grammar school in the Medway area and encourages students to become lifelong learners who are equipped with the skills, care and guidance needed to fulfil their ability and exceed their ambitions.

Pupils at Rainham Mark Grammar School study a broad curriculum including creative arts, drama, music and three modern foreign languages. Beyond the classroom, they have access to a wide range of enrichment experiences, with an emphasis on cross-curricular links, trips and visits, foreign exchanges, and building links with other schools in the Rainham Mark Educational Trust and the local and wider community.

• Address: Rainham Mark Grammar School, Pump Lane, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent ME8 7AJ

• Local authority: Medway Council

• School type: mixed grammar

• Headteacher: Lisa Barker

• Number of pupils: 1,550+

• National rank (Sunday Times Parent Power): 202

• A level results: 69.8% A*–B

• GCSE results: 55.3% 9–7

Key info for Year 7 admissions

• Admissions contact: [email protected], 01634 364151

• Number of places in Year 7: 235

• 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 Rainham Mark Grammar School

Rainham Mark 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.

Once you've registered, you will receive a test invitation by the end of August. This will tell you 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.

Supplementary information form

Children who qualify for free school meals may be prioritised for places at Rainham Mark Grammar School under its admission criteria. If your child is eligible, you will need to complete a supplementary information form (SIF) to indicate this. The supplementary information form will be available to download from the school website in the summer term.

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 Rainham Mark 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 Rainham Mark 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 Rainham Mark Grammar School's admission criteria below.

Rainham Mark Grammar School admission criteria

There are 235 places available in Year 7 at Rainham Mark Grammar School. Children will be deemed either selective – and therefore eligible for a place – or non-selective based on their performance in the Medway Test.

If there are more eligible children applying for Rainham Mark Grammar School than there are places available, the school will use oversubscription criteria to prioritise places in this order:

1. Children in public care ('Looked After Children' and 'Previously Looked After Children')

2. Children who are eligible for free school meals, according to the evidence supplied in a supplementary information form

3. Children who have a sibling attending Rainham Mark Grammar School

4. Children who have a specific health reason, supported by medical evidence, for attending the school

5. Children who have a parent employed by Rainham Mark Grammar School

6. Children who live closest to the school

There is no designated catchment area for Rainham Mark Grammar School.

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