Chances of a grammar placement

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Staplebug
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2021 12:31 pm

Chances of a grammar placement

Post by Staplebug »

Hi,

Hope you're all well.
We have recently moved to Plaxtol (TN15)and I have been looking into schools for my son who is currently in year 5.
It seems the village we have chosen to live in does not fall within the catchment of any of the Kent grammars due to the distance.
(If he passes the Kent test) Is it likely that he will be allocated a local comp as apposed to any grammar within KCC.
Sorry if this seems a dumb question, I am struggling to figure out how it all works.

Kind regards.
hermanmunster
Posts: 12817
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:51 am
Location: The Seaside

Re: Chances of a grammar placement

Post by hermanmunster »

The senior school application process requires you to fill in the CAF form, you can put whatever schools you like on it but remember that somewhere on the form it is worth putting down one that you have a seriously good chance of getting.

I am not sure how far the Kent GS offer places, I am sure someone will know - however you do have a choice over the comprehensives that may be available so it is worth having a look at these to see which you prefer / have a chance of getting a place at
PanicMode
Posts: 142
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 8:35 am

Re: Chances of a grammar placement

Post by PanicMode »

In theory you are 'in catchment' for TWGSB, Judd and Skinners, but the distances have been squeezed significantly in the past two years. When my eldest started at Skinners' (Y12 now) his classmates came from as far as London and Hastings, but my third son, who starts in September will most likely have only TW friends as they only went out to c. 2.3 miles for the inner catchment with only 20 boys coming from the outer area due to their high scores.

I think that TWGSB is opening an annexe in Sevenoaks, so you may want to look at the catchment for that - and I imagine that you could be ok for Judd if your son scores highly.
PettswoodFiona
Posts: 2134
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:24 pm
Location: Petts Wood, Bromley, Kent

Re: Chances of a grammar placement

Post by PettswoodFiona »

Even if you are not in-catchment there are 'out of catchment' (OOC) places at the likes of Dartford Grammar but that is probably a bit of a long journey from Plaxtol. You need to look at the admissions of each Kent grammar school as they will give information on any priority postcodes, distance criteria etc, they are all subtly different. As someone else has said there is also the unknown factor of the new annexe in Sevenoaks, the girls' equivalent goes out as far as Orpington and Petts Wood so it seems to have a large reach. Plaxtol is also a named parish in the admissions document for TWGSB.

If your DS can easily get to Tonbridge or Sevenoaks train station then there is the option of St Olaves which is walking distance from Orpington station and has not catchment but as a result is fiercely competitive. St Olaves is not under the Kent system but has its own test.
Peter
Posts: 246
Joined: Fri Jan 26, 2007 8:21 pm
Location: Kent & Medway

Re: Chances of a grammar placement

Post by Peter »

I am confident that a boy living in Plaxtol will be offered a place at TWGSB if he passes the Kent Test. He would in any case have been offered one this year without the Sevenoaks annexe. Next year he would be allocated to one of the two sites by the school, but you can offer a preference which will be honoured if the numbers work out. If he scores highly, he may qualify for Judd, but Skinners looks very unlikely on the last two years data.
Outnumberedby3
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Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2020 2:17 pm

Re: Chances of a grammar placement

Post by Outnumberedby3 »

Hi! I also live in Plaxtol. My son (yr 6) will be going to Judd along with 2 others from his class. In fact all those children who passed the 11+ were accepted into grammar schools including TWBG, Weal and TGS as well as Judd.
I also know of boys who live here who attend Skinners, although the catchment has changed somewhat recently.
hempsteadlad
Posts: 71
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2013 12:04 am

Re: Chances of a grammar placement

Post by hempsteadlad »

Outnumberedby3 wrote:Hi! I also live in Plaxtol. My son (yr 6) will be going to Judd along with 2 others from his class. In fact all those children who passed the 11+ were accepted into grammar schools including TWBG, Weal and TGS as well as Judd.
I also know of boys who live here who attend Skinners, although the catchment has changed somewhat recently.
The catchment areas for Skinners has not changed, but it is the number of applicants that live more local that has affecting matters. Lots of people have moved to Tunbridge Wells from London to get places.
doodles
Posts: 8300
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:19 pm

Re: Chances of a grammar placement

Post by doodles »

hempsteadlad wrote:
Outnumberedby3 wrote:Hi! I also live in Plaxtol. My son (yr 6) will be going to Judd along with 2 others from his class. In fact all those children who passed the 11+ were accepted into grammar schools including TWBG, Weal and TGS as well as Judd.
I also know of boys who live here who attend Skinners, although the catchment has changed somewhat recently.
The catchment areas for Skinners has not changed, but it is the number of applicants that live more local that has affecting matters. Lots of people have moved to Tunbridge Wells from London to get places.
The admissions criteria for Skinners' did actually change back in 2017 or 2018 (can't remember exactly) but there was a whole thread on it at the time. Inner and outer areas were introduced as well as other criteria and this resulted in the "take" /catchment areas changing quite significantly. Previously allocation had been on score and I think the changes will have had more impact than house moves.

OP there is a good FAQ section on the school's website that explains the allocation of places, it may be worth a read.
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad !
Sorrel
Posts: 616
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:56 am

Re: Chances of a grammar placement

Post by Sorrel »

There has been a higher pass mark for the Kent test the last couple of years, so the bar for Skinners' is only 30 marks above a pass rather than the 40 or high 30s it would have been in previous years.
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