Key Facts
| School type | State grammar school (academy), co-educational Year 7 entry from September 2026, boys-only Years 8 to 11 during the transition, mixed Sixth Form, ages 11 to 18 |
|---|---|
| Location | Chatham, Medway (Kent) |
| Entry points | 11+ (Year 7), published admission number 180; also 16+ (Year 12) with an admission number of 50 places for external applicants |
| Assessment | Medway Test (GL Assessment): separate English, Mathematics and Reasoning papers, age-standardised and weighted, with no interview or school report required |
| Test provider | GL Assessment (Medway Test, administered by Medway Council) |
| Registration deadline | Medway Test registration for September 2027 entry ran from 9am Monday 18 May 2026 to 5pm Friday 12 June 2026; secondary school applications close Saturday 31 October 2026 |
| Assessment date | Medway Test sat Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 September 2026 for children at Medway primary schools, and Saturday 19 or Sunday 20 September 2026 for children from outside Medway (results released Wednesday 14 October 2026, for September 2027 entry) |
Figures correct at the time of writing — always confirm current fees and deadlines with the school directly.
Getting into Holcombe Grammar School at 11+ means a child first has to reach the qualifying standard set through the Medway Test, sat in the autumn before entry, and then be ranked against the school's oversubscription criteria if more children qualify than there are places. The school, an academy in the Thinking Schools Academy Trust based in Chatham, sets a published admission number of 180 for Year 7, and there is no separate application form for the test itself beyond registering through Medway Council's Parent Portal and completing the Medway common application form.
Selection runs through the local authority: Medway administers the Medway Test on the governors' behalf, acts as a clearing house for preferences, and only then does the school apply its own admissions policy to rank selective candidates. Parents outside Medway follow the same registration process but sit the test on separate dates at an independent centre.
How entry works
A child is offered a Year 7 place only after reaching the qualifying standard in the Medway Test and then being ranked against the school's admission number if demand exceeds supply. The published admission number is 180, increased from a previous figure of 150, and applies to the mixed Year 7 intake. Only applications from children assessed as being of selective ability under the Medway testing arrangements are considered; a place cannot be secured on the strength of a school report, interview or reference.
Applications for Year 7 go through Medway Council's common application form as part of the co-ordinated admissions scheme, whether or not the family lives in Medway. The council administers the test on behalf of the school's governors, then posts test outcomes and, separately, offers or refusals of places to parents. The school confirms its governors' admissions decisions and appeal rights directly.
How the 11+ assessment works
The Medway Test is set by GL Assessment and consists of three separate papers: English, Mathematics and Reasoning. English runs for 30 minutes and covers comprehension, punctuation and grammar; Mathematics runs for 50 minutes; Reasoning runs for 45 minutes in total, split between non-verbal/spatial reasoning and verbal reasoning, with breaks of at least 20 minutes between papers.
Each paper is scored and then age-standardised, so a child's date of birth within the school year does not disadvantage them. The three standardised scores are combined into a weighted total, with English and Mathematics each counted twice and Reasoning counted once. Children are ranked by this weighted score, and those in the top band, historically around a quarter of Medway maintained-school children, are assessed as being of grammar-school standard. There is no interview and no report from the child's current school feeds into the assessment; there is also no resit and no remarking of test papers.
Registration and the admissions process, step by step
Registering for the Medway Test is a separate step from applying for a school place, and it is not automatic even for children already at a Medway primary school. Missing the registration window means a child cannot sit the test or be considered for a grammar place; there is no late registration.
- Register for the Medway Test through the Parent Portal within the published window
- Sit the test at the child's own Medway primary school, or at a designated Medway Council venue if attending a school outside Medway or outside the co-ordinated area
- Receive the test outcome (selective or non-selective) from Medway Council ahead of the secondary application deadline
- Submit the Medway common application form listing school preferences, separately from test registration
- Receive the offer or refusal of a place from Medway Council, acting on the school's behalf
- Accept or decline the offer, or join the waiting list, by the published deadline; lodge an appeal with the Independent Appeal Panel if needed
Catchment and oversubscription criteria
Holcombe Grammar School has no defined catchment area. Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, who have also met the entry requirement, are admitted first and the admission number is reduced accordingly to make room for them.
Where selective applications exceed the admission number of 180, places are allocated in this order: looked after children and previously looked after children; children with a sibling already attending the school; children attending one of four named Thinking Schools Academy Trust primary schools (The Gordon Children's Academy, New Horizons Children's Academy, All Faiths Children's Academy and Cedar Children's Academy); children of staff employed by the academy for two or more years, or recruited to a skills-shortage post; children with a specific medical need supported by written evidence from a GP or consultant; and finally children living closest to the school by shortest home-to-school distance.
If a criterion itself produces more eligible children than remaining places, distance to the school is used as the tie-break within that criterion. Children refused a place can ask to join the school's waiting list, held in the same priority order and not affected by how long a child has been on it.
How to prepare for the Medway Test
Because the Medway Test covers English, Mathematics and both verbal and non-verbal reasoning under timed conditions, familiarity with the format and pacing across three separate papers tends to matter as much as subject knowledge. The school publishes Medway Test familiarisation materials on its admissions page, and only materials from GL Assessment's own website are endorsed as accurate practice for the real format.
Because each paper is age-standardised, a child's actual date of birth does not need to be a source of worry relative to older classmates; preparation is better spent on comfortable working speed across comprehension, punctuation and grammar questions, mathematics at the expected curriculum level, and both types of reasoning question, with rest breaks built in to mirror the real test's structure.
Children eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years, which brings pupil premium eligibility, are given free access to an online preparation platform through a partnership the school has arranged; parents unsure of eligibility can check with the school directly.
Financial support and sixth form entry
As a state grammar school, the school charges no tuition fees at any point, including for the Medway Test itself or for Year 7 entry. Support for families instead comes through pupil premium funding for eligible pupils and, from age 16, a discretionary 16-19 bursary scheme for sixth form students who meet the eligibility rules set out in the school's published bursary policy.
The sixth form runs separately from Year 7 entry. Entry is based on academic requirements published in the school's sixth form prospectus, with the Medway Test playing no part. Existing Year 11 pupils transfer first if they meet those requirements, and the school then makes up to 50 places available annually to external applicants, subject to its own post-16 oversubscription criteria if demand exceeds supply.
Related guides
Preparing for the Holcombe Grammar School 11+ with Taylor Tuition
Families preparing for the Holcombe Grammar School 11+ usually come to us a year or so before the assessment, though shorter runs work where the foundations are already sound. Having prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools, with placements including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, our tutors build each programme around the format the school actually uses, whether a written paper, an online pre-test, an interview or a combination of them.
More than half of our tutors hold Qualified Teacher Status and around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate, and the pool includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools, so the preparation is led by people who know how selective schools assess. 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.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Holcombe Grammar School have a catchment area?
- No. The school has no defined catchment area. Priority instead follows the published oversubscription criteria in order: looked after children, siblings, children attending named Thinking Schools Academy Trust primary schools, children of staff, health reasons, then proximity, measured as the shortest distance from home to school under the Medway co-ordinated scheme.
- What test does Holcombe Grammar School use for 11+ entry?
- The Medway Test, set by GL Assessment and administered by Medway Council on behalf of the school's governors. It has three papers, English, Mathematics and Reasoning, each age-standardised, with English and Mathematics weighted double and Reasoning weighted once to produce a total score.
- Is Holcombe Grammar School a boys' school or co-educational?
- It admits a mixed Year 7 intake, alongside Chatham Grammar School and Fort Pitt Grammar School, following Department for Education approval. Year groups above Year 7 remain boys only until they move through the school, while the Sixth Form already admits both boys and girls.
- Do we need to live in Medway to sit the Medway Test for Holcombe Grammar School?
- No. Registration is still required within the published window, and children from outside Medway sit the test on different dates at an independent test venue instead of a Medway primary school. A child cannot sit the test remotely or outside the UK.
- What happens if my child passes the Medway Test but the school is oversubscribed?
- Passing the test only confirms selective ability; it does not guarantee a place. If applications exceed the published admission number of 180, places go in oversubscription-criteria order, ending with proximity to the school measured as the shortest distance from home to school.
- Can we appeal if our child is not offered a place?
- Yes. Parents have the right of appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel, run in line with the School Admission Appeals Code. The panel's decision is binding on all parties, and the school publishes appeal deadlines and a process flowchart alongside its admissions arrangements.
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