Key Facts
| School type | State grammar school (academy), girls 11 to 16, with a joint co-educational sixth form to 18 |
|---|---|
| Location | Wilmington, near Dartford, Kent |
| Entry points | 11+ (Year 7) main entry; 16+ (Year 12) joint co-educational sixth form, WG6, run with Wilmington Grammar School for Boys |
| Assessment | Kent Test (PESE): English and maths paper plus a reasoning paper, set and marked by Kent County Council, alongside a headteacher assessment of suitability for grammar school education |
| Test provider | Kent County Council's own Kent Test (PESE), not a school-set paper |
| Registration deadline | Kent Test registration closes 1 July before entry; the Secondary Common Application Form naming the school is due by 31 October |
| Assessment date | Kent primary school pupils sit the Kent Test in school in September; children outside Kent sit it at a grammar school test centre over a weekend in September. Results are issued by letter in mid-October |
Figures correct at the time of writing. Confirm current fees and deadlines with the school or university directly.
Entry to Wilmington Grammar School for Girls at 11+ runs through the Kent Test, the assessment Kent County Council uses to decide which children are suitable for a grammar school education. Registering for the test does not itself apply for a place; parents must also name the school on their Secondary Common Application Form so it can be considered once a child's assessment result is known.
The school admits girls into Year 7 under a published admission number, with places offered to those who have been assessed as suitable for grammar school education and who rank highest under the school's oversubscription criteria once demand exceeds supply. A joint co-educational sixth form, run with Wilmington Grammar School for Boys, also takes external applicants at 16+ alongside internal Year 11 leavers.
How the Kent Test is structured
The Kent Test is set and marked centrally by Kent County Council, sat once for entry to any Kent grammar school. It has two timed papers. The first covers English and maths together, lasting about an hour and split into two 25-minute sections, each preceded by a short practice exercise; the English part includes a comprehension task drawn from a wider set of literacy questions. The second paper covers reasoning, with a verbal reasoning section and a non-verbal reasoning section of similar length, the non-verbal part broken into short, individually timed sections.
Children also complete an unmarked writing exercise of around forty minutes, including ten minutes of planning time. This falls outside the scoring of the main result, though a headteacher panel may refer to it if a family later appeals a decision. Results come back as three standardised scores, for English, maths and reasoning, plus a combined total; a headteacher assessment of suitability for grammar school education sits alongside the test scores in reaching the final decision.
Registering for the Kent Test and applying to the school
Parents, not schools, are responsible for registering a child for the Kent Test, since the school cannot make this application on a family's behalf. Registering for the test and applying for a place are two separate steps, and a family needs to complete both before a child can be considered for a Year 7 place, whatever the outcome of the assessment itself.
- Register for the Kent Test online with Kent County Council in the summer term before Year 6 begins, whether or not the family lives in Kent
- Sit the test at the child's own primary school if it is in Kent, or at a Kent grammar school test centre on a weekend if it is not
- Receive the assessment result by letter from Kent County Council
- Name the school, in order of preference alongside any others, on the Secondary Common Application Form submitted to the home local authority
- Wait for the national offer day allocation, with a right of appeal if no place is offered
11+ tutors
Hannah S.
Master TutorI am a UK-qualified teacher with 15+ years across private and state schools in the UK and abroad, and hold a BSc from LSE and a PGCE with QTS. I teach English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning, 11+ and Common Entrance preparation. My approach is personalised, confidence-building and rigorous.
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Sochima N.
Master TutorI'm a qualified teacher in a London classroom every day, with a BSc in Computer Science from Brunel and a PGCE with QTS. I teach Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Computer Science to A-Level, plus 11+ preparation, through project-based work that suits SEND learners well.
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Ariana G.
Master TutorI have taught English in London schools for twelve years, including Tiffin Girls' School, and hold a PGCE with QTS. I teach English, English Literature, English Language and 11+ preparation across KS3 to A-Level and IB. I get to know each tutee and plan creative lessons around their goals.
Enquire about this tutorCatchment area and priority parishes
The school's admissions criteria set a priority area of about thirty named parishes covering Wilmington, Dartford, Swanley, Hartley, Hextable, Horton Kirby and South Darenth, Farningham, Eynsford, Longfield and New Barn, Meopham, Sutton at Hone and Hawley, and neighbouring parishes towards Sevenoaks. Girls living within this priority area, or within 1.5 miles of the school where that boundary is closer, are ranked ahead of applicants from further away once higher-priority categories such as siblings and Governor places have been filled.
Oversubscription criteria and governor places
After children with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, places go first to children in local authority care, then to siblings of girls already at Wilmington Grammar School for Girls or Wilmington Grammar School for Boys, then to children of staff meeting the published service conditions. A distinctive feature of the school's arrangements is a set of Governor places, reserved for girls who show the strongest performance in the maths section of the Kent Test and who live within five miles of the school; these places are filled ahead of the general priority-area and distance ranking.
Once these categories are filled, remaining places go to girls living in the priority area, ranked by straight-line distance from home to school, with Pupil Premium eligibility giving additional priority within that group. Any places left after that go to other girls who passed the Kent Test, again ranked by distance. Where two applicants tie on distance, Kent's coordinated scheme uses random allocation to decide the remaining place.
Support for Pupil Premium applicants
A supplementary form is needed to claim sibling or Pupil Premium priority; a child qualifies on Pupil Premium grounds if she has been registered for free school meals at any point in the past six years and lives within three miles of the school. The school also gives Pupil Premium-eligible families free access to Atom Learning's 11+ familiarisation materials, aimed at widening access to test preparation regardless of a family's ability to pay for tutoring.
How to prepare for the Kent Test
Because the English and maths paper and the reasoning paper are both tightly timed, with short sections following brief practice exercises, familiarity with working at pace under exam conditions matters as much as subject knowledge. Practising short, timed sections separately for comprehension, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning helps a child build the stamina the real test demands, and working through past-style questions in the non-verbal reasoning format is worthwhile given how distinct it is from normal classroom maths and English.
The unmarked writing exercise is worth treating seriously despite not contributing to the main score, since it can be used if a family later appeals; practising planning a short piece of writing within a ten-minute limit, then writing it up in the remaining time, mirrors the actual format. Spreading preparation calmly across the months before the test, in short regular sessions, tends to suit most children better than concentrated last-minute cramming.
Related guides
Preparing for the Wilmington Grammar School for Girls 11+ with Taylor Tuition
Preparation for the Wilmington Grammar School for Girls 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.
Read more about our 11+ entrance exam tutors, or send an enquiry and we will come back with tutor recommendations.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Wilmington Grammar School for Girls have a fixed catchment area?
- No single catchment boundary is used. The school sets a priority area of about thirty named parishes around Wilmington, Dartford and neighbouring areas, plus a 1.5-mile radius where that is closer, and ranks applicants within that area by distance once higher-priority categories are filled.
- Does passing the Kent Test guarantee a place?
- No. Passing the Kent Test means a child has been assessed as suitable for grammar school education, but a place still depends on ranking under the school's oversubscription criteria, such as siblings, Governor places, priority area and distance, once the school naming the applicant is oversubscribed.
- What are the Governor places at this school?
- Up to a tenth of the Year 7 admission number is reserved as Governor places for girls who achieve the strongest scores in the maths section of the Kent Test and who live within five miles of the school. These places are allocated ahead of the general priority-area and distance-based ranking.
- Who registers a child for the Kent Test?
- Parents register their own child for the Kent Test online with Kent County Council; the school cannot register a child on a family's behalf. A separate step, naming the school on the Secondary Common Application Form, is also required for the application itself.
- Is there help available for Pupil Premium families preparing for the Kent Test?
- Yes. Pupil Premium-eligible families are given free access to Atom Learning's 11+ familiarisation materials through the school, and a child registered for free school meals within the past six years and living within three miles of the school can also claim Pupil Premium priority via a supplementary form.
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