Wilmington Grammar School for Boys 11+ Admissions: Kent Test and Entry Guide

Entry to Wilmington Grammar School for Boys at 11+ depends on passing the Kent Test, Kent County Council's own selection assessment, and then formally applying through the Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) to your home local authority. Boys must register for the Kent Test with Kent County Council in early summer of Year 5, sit the papers at the start of the following autumn term, and then have Wilmington Grammar School for Boys named as a preference on the SCAF by the national closing date; a place is only offered where a boy has been assessed suitable for grammar school and, if demand exceeds capacity, where the school's published admissions criteria are met.

The school is a state grammar academy in Wilmington, near Dartford, and runs a joint sixth form, WG6, at 16+ with its partner school, Wilmington Grammar School for Girls.

How entry works

The school admits its main Year 7 intake at 11+, alongside places at 16+ into WG6, the joint sixth form it runs with Wilmington Grammar School for Girls, open to boys and girls who meet the GCSE grade requirements for their chosen courses. Where capacity allows, the school also considers in-year applications into Years 7, 8 and 9, testing candidates at the school itself up to three times a year; admission after the start of Year 10 is considered only in specific circumstances, given how close this is to GCSE examinations.

How the Kent Test works for entry

To be considered for a place, boys must register for and sit the Kent Test, known formally as the Kent procedure for entrance to secondary schools age 11 (PESE); registration is made through Kent County Council. The test comprises two multiple-choice papers, computer-marked from a separate answer sheet: an hour-long English and maths paper, each section preceded by a short practice exercise, and a further hour-long reasoning paper split evenly between verbal and non-verbal reasoning, the non-verbal section timed in short parts. A 40-minute writing exercise, including planning time, is also set; it is unscored, though it may be referred to a headteacher panel in a borderline or appeal case. There is no separate school interview.

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Registering and applying for a place, step by step

Parents, not schools, register a child for the Kent Test directly with Kent County Council, a step that must be completed before registration closes in early summer of Year 5; late registration is not accepted for boys already living in the area. Boys sit the test at the start of the autumn term of Year 6, with results sent by email, or by first-class post if no email was given, later in the same term.

Separately, and regardless of the Kent Test outcome, parents must name the school as a preference on the Secondary Common Application Form through their home local authority by the national closing date; offers follow on National Offer Day the following spring, with a further date set shortly afterwards by which places must be accepted or declined.

Who gets priority: oversubscription and the supplementary form

Only boys assessed suitable for grammar school through the Kent Test are considered for a place at the school, with places allocated under its published Admissions Policy where applications exceed capacity. A supplementary form, additional to the SCAF, is needed only in two circumstances: where a boy has a sibling attending the school or Wilmington Grammar School for Girls at the time of application, or where he has been registered for free school meals within the six years preceding application and lives within the school's listed parish boundaries or a three-mile radius, in which case a supporting letter from his current school is also required.

• Sibling attending the school or Wilmington Grammar School for Girls at the time of application
• Registered for free school meals in the last six years and living within the listed parishes or a three-mile radius

Appeals if a place is refused

A boy refused a place at the school on National Offer Day can only appeal if the school was named on his Secondary Common Application Form by the national closing date. Appeals must be lodged by the published deadline, typically in the following spring, to be heard in the first tranche; those lodged later may not be heard until the second tranche, which can fall after the start of the following autumn term. The appeal must state the reason for the challenge and supply supporting evidence at the time it is lodged, submitted via the school's own online form; the local authority's form is not used for this purpose.

Preparing for the Kent Test

Kent County Council publishes a familiarisation paper explaining the format of the Kent Test, and each timed section of the test itself begins with a short practice exercise, so boys are not meeting the question types cold. The school separately partners with the online platform Atom Learning to offer free Key Stage 2 and 11+ preparation to boys eligible for Pupil Premium, verified through their primary school, with a shorter free trial available to other families. Because the reasoning paper covers both verbal and non-verbal reasoning and the writing exercise has a timed planning stage built in, practice that mirrors the timing and format of each section tends to be more useful than content alone.

Boys with special educational needs or living outside Kent

Kent County Council asks parents of boys with a disability or special educational needs that could affect access to testing to discuss this with their primary school's SENCO before registering, so the school can apply for the right access arrangements in good time; boys with a severe visual impairment who cannot access the test papers are instead assessed by a headteacher panel using their classwork and academic record. Families living outside Kent can register for the Kent Test, though only where they genuinely intend to apply to a Kent grammar school, since unused test places use up capacity needed by other candidates.

Related guides

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

Preparing for the Wilmington Grammar School for Boys 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Families preparing for the Wilmington Grammar School for Boys 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.

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