Grammar schools in the Medway

Registration for the Medway Test opens in May and closes in June. There is a very small window in which to register your child for the test and late registrations are not usually accepted. You will need to ensure you have all the information ready to register your child and that you closely follow the instructions. If you need someone to help with understanding the registration instructions, make sure they are there to assist you. Registration takes place on the Admissions Portal.

The following schools use the results of the Medway Test to determine entry: Chatham Grammar School, Fort Pitt Grammar School, Holcombe Grammar School, Rainham Mark Grammar School, Rochester Grammar School and Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School. These schools are all located in Medway and will offer co-educational provision from September 2025 with the exception of Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School which will remain boys-only until sixth form.

There are six grammar schools, listed above, which use the Medway Test as part of their admissions procedure. It is very important to visit these schools if you are considering applying, and to assess whether they are a good fit for your child before you register for the Medway Test. The schools may also have additional admissions criteria which it is important to consider.

Whilst the Medway Test results come out to parents in mid-October, offers of places at Medway grammar schools are not made until March, which is secondary schools national offer day. A pass on the Medway Test does not guarantee a place at a Medway grammar school, as other admissions criteria may be taken into account and all six schools are usually heavily oversubscribed.

There are different dates for the Medway Test depending on which school your child currently attends. If children currently attend a state primary in the Medway area, they will sit the test on one of two dates depending on their school. If they attend an independent school in the Medway area, these dates will be slightly different. Children sitting the test who currently attend a school outside the Medway area will sit the test a few days later.

The Medway Test takes place on one day in mid to end September. In a test centre, it is held in the morning. Children are required to be dropped off at their test centre before 9am and collected around 1.30pm. There are very strict rules around lateness so it is important to plan your journey to the test centre. Parents are not allowed to wait at the centre for their child. In a school, the test will be held over two days, and children will be guided by their teachers when and where to attend their papers. Usually, the English paper is taken on one day, and the Maths and Reasoning papers the next day.

The Medway Test covers three areas: Reasoning, Mathematics, and English. The English component of the test was introduced this year and was only 30 minutes long. Reasoning questions will include both verbal and non-verbal questions. The length of each paper on the test varies from year to year and is normally advised to parents in advance of the test once they have registered.

The Medway Test has been developed by GL Assessment. The test is multiple choice and familiarisation materials are available on the GL Assessment website. The test is designed to be marked by computer so there is little to no margin for errors.

The number of questions will vary depending on the length of the test. However, you can except to spend between 30 to 45 seconds on each Reasoning question, and one minute on each Maths and English question. These timings are reflected in the familiarisation materials available. There are no past papers available but 11+ papers should provide good preparation as long as the above timings are carefully followed.

When you receive your child’s results for the Medway Test you will receive a test score for each paper and an overall standardised score. Alongside this there will be a decision as to whether your child has been assessed as grammar or non-grammar standard. This decision may lead you to wish to appeal, which you can do after you receive an offer on national secondary schools offer day in March, as long as you put a grammar school down as one of your school choices.

With more schools in the Medway area turning co-educational, the percentage of children who will be assessed as grammar school standard has slightly changed. Previously, the top 25% of children who took the Medway test for entry into Year 7 were assessed as grammar school standard. From September 2025, it will now be 26%, meaning that effectively the ‘pass mark’ for the Medway test has been slightly lowered. However, it should be remembered that passing the Medway test does not guarantee admission into the school of choice, as other criteria will also apply.

The Medway Test is set and marked by GL assessment, so is comparable to many other 11+ tests across the country. There are now three papers: Maths, Reasoning and English. With the addition of the English paper, the Medway Test assesses a wider range of skills than previously, and provides a well-rounded insight into a child’s potential and ability to thrive at a selective grammar school.

It is best to look to achieve above 75% in each section of the Medway Test, as generally the top 23-26% will achieve their place at the desired school. Although this mark does vary between years, it might be interesting to note that the maximum score is 700, and children achieving over 500 will have more chance of gaining a selective school place.

Individual grammar schools in the Medway area which use the Medway test to aid their selection process will have different admissions criteria. Once a child has been assessed as grammar school standard they are free to name these schools on their application form, but should carefully check the admissions policies of the individual school as well.

This will vary each year depending on how oversubscribed the school is. It is important to note that with some schools changing from single-sex to co-educational, this could affect how many children of a particular gender they take into Year 7, as they try to rearrange their gender profiles. In every academic year there will be some schools which are more competitive than others.

If schools have a larger catchment area they may be able to maintain a slightly lower Medway Test score, meaning more children are able to access that school. However, it is important to check the admissions criteria carefully. These do change very slightly year on year.