Dartford Grammar School for Girls 11+ Admissions: The Kent Test Explained

Getting into Dartford Grammar School for Girls at 11+ starts with the Kent Test, Kent County Council's selective assessment for its grammar schools, set by GL Assessment and taken by every girl applying for a Year 7 place. Girls who reach the required standard become eligible for admission, though eligibility alone does not secure a place: the school offers 180 Year 7 places each year and, when oversubscribed, ranks eligible applicants using its own published criteria.

Most families register during Year 5, sit the test early in Year 6, and then apply to the school itself through Kent's own secondary transfer process, naming it as a preference on the Local Authority application form.

How entry works at 11+

Entry to Year 7 runs entirely through Kent's selective test route: the school offers 180 places, all filled via the externally set Kent Test. A small number of places also open at 16+, when the school takes new sixth-form students alongside its own Year 11 leavers, through a separate application.

How the Kent Test assessment works

The 11+ assessment is the Kent Test, written by GL Assessment and administered centrally by Kent County Council. It consists of two multiple-choice papers, each lasting about an hour: the first covers English and maths, the second covers verbal and non-verbal reasoning, with answers marked on machine-read sheets. Girls attending a Kent primary school sit the papers there; those at schools outside Kent, or who are home-educated, sit them at an assigned test centre.

Registering and applying, step by step

Getting a place follows Kent County Council's single coordinated admissions timetable, applied consistently across every Kent grammar school a family names as a preference. A family works through several steps in order, from registering for the Kent Test through to the Local Authority's own offer day the following spring.

• Register online with Kent County Council, or by paper form, during Year 5, to enter the Kent Test
• Sit the two Kent Test papers in early autumn of Year 6, at the child's own primary school or an assigned test centre
• Receive the assessment decision by email or letter from Kent County Council
• Apply for the school itself on the Local Authority's Secondary Common Application Form, ranking it among school preferences
• Return a Supplementary Information Form directly to the school, with proof of eligibility, if applying under the pupil premium priority
• Wait for national offer day, when Kent County Council confirms which school place has been allocated

Priority area and oversubscription criteria

When more eligible girls apply than there are places, the school works through a fixed order of oversubscription criteria published alongside its admissions policy. Looked-after and previously looked-after children are ranked first, followed by girls eligible for pupil premium, registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years. A hundred places are then reserved for girls living in the Borough of Dartford or one of ten named parishes, including Swanley, Hartley, Hextable, Eynsford, Farningham and West Kingsdown; any places remaining after that go to other eligible girls regardless of address.

Where a category is itself oversubscribed, places go first to girls with the highest aggregate Kent Test score, then, if scores are tied, to whichever applicant lives closer to the school in a straight line. A small number of places named for the school under an Education, Health and Care Plan are allocated before these criteria apply, which can reduce the places available under the general process.

Results, waiting lists and appeals

Kent County Council emails or posts the Kent Test decision ahead of national offer day, confirming whether a girl has met the standard required for grammar entry. That confirms eligibility only; a place at this particular school still depends on the school's own oversubscription criteria. Families not offered a place can ask to join the school's waiting list, which stays open until the end of December and is ranked using the same oversubscription order as fresh applicants join it. Where a place is refused, parents can appeal to an independent appeal panel.

Preparing for the Kent Test

Because the Kent Test covers English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning across two timed multiple-choice papers, preparation tends to work best when it covers all four areas evenly. Familiarising a child with the multiple-choice answer sheet and practising under timed conditions usually helps more than extra content revision, since both papers run to about an hour with little time to spare. Non-verbal and verbal reasoning often need separate attention, as they draw on different skills from the English and maths a child already meets at primary school, and steady, regular practice tends to suit the format better than last-minute cramming.

Related guides

• Kent grammar schools guide
• Tutors for families in Kent
• Grammar schools in England: the full directory

Preparing for the Dartford Grammar School for Girls 11+ with Taylor Tuition

The Dartford Grammar School for Girls 11+ rewards steady preparation over a year or so, with the last term given to timed practice and interview confidence. Having prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools, with placements including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, our tutors match the programme to the school's assessment format and to where the child is starting from.

Because the pool includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools, and more than half of our tutors hold Qualified Teacher Status, families get a tutor who understands what the assessors are looking for. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check.

Families in Kent and further afield work with us online, and in person in central London. Fees start from £50 per 50-minute session and depend on tutor level and subject, with no registration fee and a free initial consultation to talk through your child's current level and the timeline to the 11+. Families receive progress reports after sessions and have a dedicated point of contact, and we reply to enquiries within one working day with tutor recommendations.

Read more about our 11+ entrance exam tutors, or send an enquiry and we will come back with tutor recommendations.