Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School 11+ guide

Atom Learning is partnered with Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School. You can read more about our partnership here.

Thinking about applying to Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School for entry in 2026? Find out everything you need to know about admissions and how to prepare your child for success in the 11 plus.

Key information about Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School

• Address: Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School, Maidstone Road, Rochester, Kent ME1 3EL
• Number of pupils: 1,450+
• Admissions contact: [email protected]
• Number of places in Year 7: 203
• 11+ exam: Medway Test
• Catchment area: no

Dates for your diary

• Monday 19th May 2025: 11+ registration opens
• Friday 13th June 2025: 11+ registration closes
• Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th September 2025: 11+ exam dates
• Wednesday 15th October 2025: 11+ results released
• Friday 31st October 2025: secondary school application deadline
• Monday 2nd March 2026: secondary school national offers day

About Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School

Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School is a boys' grammar school with a mixed sixth form in Rochester, Kent. It was founded in 1701 and specialised in teaching maths and navigation to the sons of Freemen of the City of Rochester. The school is known locally as 'the Math'.

The school was one of the first 100 in the country to be named a National Teaching School. The Math takes a progressive approach to teaching and learning. Students have a range of enrichment opportunities, including academic challenges and Erasmus projects.

How to apply to Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School

Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School is a selective school. This means that your child will need to take the local 11 plus exam, known as the Medway Test, to be eligible for a place.

The deadline to register for the 11 plus exam at Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School is Friday 13th June 2025. You can register your child for the test on the Medway Council website.

If your child goes to a Medway primary school, they will take the test at their current school on either Tuesday 16th September or Wednesday 17th September 2025. If your child does not go to a Medway primary school, they’ll be invited to take the exam at a test centre in the area on either Saturday 20th September or Sunday 21st September 2025.

You’ll receive your child’s results on Wednesday 15th October 2025. You can then use these results to decide whether to apply for a place at Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School.

To apply, you’ll need to name the school as one of your preferred schools on the secondary school common application form. This will be available on your home council website from early September and must be submitted by 31st October.

Remember – passing the 11 plus doesn’t guarantee that your child will be allocated a place at your preferred school. Many grammar schools are often oversubscribed with qualified children. Schools and their admissions authorities work through admissions criteria to prioritise children for places. We’ve included the admissions criteria for Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School below.

What subjects are on the entrance exam?

Children applying to Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School take an exam known as the Medway Test. The exam papers are supplied by GL Assessment.

The Medway Test consists of three papers:

• English
• Maths
• Reasoning

How does place allocation work at Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School?

The Medway Test is designed to identify the children working within the top 25% of their year group. This means that a pass mark can't be determined until after the tests have been marked and the scores ranked in order. However, in the last four years, the pass mark has been between 480 and 490.

If the number of children who have met the qualifying standard for entry to the school exceeds the number of places available, the school applies oversubscription criteria. Children are prioritised for places in the following order:

1. Children in public care or previously in public care ('looked after' or 'previously looked after' children)
2. Children who have a sibling attending Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School
3. Children who have a specific health reason, supported by medical evidence, for attending the school
4. Children who have a parent employed by Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School
5. Nearness of children's homes to the school, calculated by the shortest safe walking route

There is no catchment area at Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School. However, a child's distance from the school plays a role in how likely it is they will be offered a place. Distance (criterion 5) is the most frequently applied out of the priority order above.

In the last 10 years, the furthest distance a child has been offered a place has been 5.84 miles away from the school. The average furthest distance in the last 10 years has been 4.38 miles.

How can I help my child prepare for the Medway Test?

The Medway Test is designed to be challenging. Here are our top tips to help your child prepare for the exam in September 2025.

Bitesize learning

It’s important to build a good knowledge base before the 11 plus. Using a ‘little and often’ approach when learning is key – our brains encode new information more effectively when dealing with smaller ‘chunks’ of information. For children aged 10–11, child psychologists recommend regular study sessions of 20–30 minutes.

Atom Home makes learning a more enjoyable process for your child. They'll explore exciting worlds full of interactive questions, earning coins to spend in the Atom shop. Atom adapts to your child, showing them questions at just the right level of difficulty to keep them motivated.

Read widely

11 plus exams test your child’s ability to analyse and interpret written information. Regular reading is a great way to help your child build these skills.

Encourage them to read books from different genres and by a diverse range of authors. Increasing the variety of your child’s reading will help them understand different styles, tones and purposes. Meanwhile, reading a little every day will help widen their vocabulary, sharpen their analytical thinking, and enhance their imagination.

Refine exam technique

When your child feels confident with the topics they’ve learnt in Year 5, they’ll be ready to put their knowledge to the test.

Practice tests can help your child develop problem-solving skills and build confidence working under test conditions. They’re also a great way to consolidate learning and highlight knowledge gaps for further improvement.

With Atom Home, you'll unlock online mock tests and printable practice papers. Enjoy automatic marking and progress tracking with the online tests, and help your child get familiar with the real exam experience with printable practice papers.

Celebrate progress

Setting regular, achievable goals and celebrating your child’s progress – no matter how big or small – will help keep their motivation high.

Make sure to encourage a growth mindset. This means celebrating effort, as well as achievement! When your child makes mistakes or struggles to understand a particular topic, help them understand that they’ll improve through practice. Regular praise will help your child improve their resilience when tackling new and challenging topics.