Highsted Grammar School 11+ Admissions: How to Apply for Year 7 Entry

Getting into Highsted Grammar School at 11+ means registering for the Kent Test, the selection test used across Kent's grammar schools, and then listing the school on the Secondary Common Application Form; girls can also apply separately to sit Highsted's own optional test, which carries equal status to a Kent Test pass. Places are limited to a published admission number, and when applications exceed places, a set of oversubscription criteria decides who is offered a place.

Highsted is a selective grammar school for girls from Year 7 to Year 13, with a co-educational sixth form, and follows Kent County Council's secondary transfer arrangements alongside its own admissions policy.

How entry to the school works

Entry to Highsted is at Year 7, through the 11+ selection process. The school's admission number is up to 150 girls a year, taught across four or five teaching groups, with additional pupils sometimes admitted where an independent appeals panel directs a place beyond that number. Places outside the normal Year 7 round are handled through in-year, or casual, admissions; the main 11+ process does not apply.

How the 11+ assessment works

Girls can qualify for a Year 7 place in one of two ways: by sitting the Kent Test, the standard selection test used across Kent's grammar schools, or by sitting Highsted's own test, which has held equal status to a Kent Test pass since it was introduced. A child must be registered for the Kent Test before she can also be entered for the Highsted Test; the Highsted Test builds on that registration.

The Highsted Test itself has two parts: a computer-based assessment covering verbal ability, numeracy and non-verbal reasoning, and a separate written English paper testing reading and writing. Applying for it requires a completed application form and evidence that Kent Test registration has already been submitted, sent to the school's dedicated Highsted Test email address. Families wanting to be considered under the Pupil Premium oversubscription criterion also complete a Supplementary Information Form at this stage.

Registering and the admissions process, step by step

The process runs in a fixed order, though the school publishes exact dates on its admissions page each cycle. Parents first register their daughter for the Kent Test; those also wanting the Highsted Test route submit a separate application, with proof of Kent Test registration, by the school's published deadline. Girls then sit the relevant test or tests, results follow, and parents list Highsted on their Secondary Common Application Form to the local authority. An offer follows in due course; families who accept a place then complete the school's own enrolment steps, while those refused a place have a statutory right of appeal.

Catchment and oversubscription criteria

Highsted has no defined catchment area; distance from home to school is only one of several factors used, and only when the school is oversubscribed. Any girl who meets the qualifying standard, whether through the Kent Test or the Highsted Test, is considered on the same basis regardless of where she lives. Where places are oversubscribed, the school applies its criteria strictly in order until the available places are filled.

• Children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school
• Children in local authority care, or previously in care, including those adopted from care
• Children eligible for Pupil Premium, registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years (excluding Universal Infant Free School Meals), evidenced through a Supplementary Information Form
• Current Family Association, meaning a sister already attending the school
• Nearness of home to school, measured by straight-line distance using National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) data

Appeals and in-year admissions

Parents whose daughter is refused a Year 7 place have a statutory right to appeal to an independent appeal panel; the school issues appeal information automatically whenever an application is declined, whatever the reason for refusal.

Outside the normal Year 7 round, transfers into the school are handled as in-year, or casual, admissions. The school holds its own selection tests three times a year for this purpose, and a pupil judged suitable is entitled to a place if one exists in the relevant year group. Suitability is judged on results from nationally recognised cognitive tests of verbal and non-verbal reasoning, a written test in at least one subject such as English, mathematics or science, and, where relevant, attainment at her previous school. Applying starts with a Casual Admissions Form sent to the school's admissions office.

How to prepare for the assessment format

Because a place can be secured through either the Kent Test or the Highsted Test, preparation usually covers the same core skills either route asks for: reading comprehension, spelling and grammar, written composition, arithmetic and problem-solving, and both verbal and non-verbal reasoning. Familiarity with a computer-based test format is also useful for the Highsted Test specifically, since it differs in delivery from the paper-based Kent Test.

Building these skills steadily over time, with regular practice at the question types involved, tends to leave a child calmer on the day than a late rush beforehand. Reading widely and writing regularly both support the English components of either test, while short, consistent practice with reasoning questions helps a child become familiar with their format without it feeling unfamiliar under time pressure.

Related guides

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

Preparing for the Highsted Grammar School 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Preparation for the Highsted Grammar School 11+ tends to go best when it starts early and stays steady, and most families who work with us begin between twelve and eighteen months out. Our tutors, who have prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, plan the work backwards from the school's own assessment format and registration deadline.

The tutors we match to 11+ preparation are drawn from a pool in which more than half hold Qualified Teacher Status, around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate, and which includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check.

Families work with us online from anywhere in the UK or abroad, 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.