Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys has agreed to sponsor an annexe on the Weald of Kent / Trinity site in Sevenoaks with a public consultation starting after half-term.

DS is at TWGSB and and an announcement from the Headteacher and Chair of Governors was emailed to parents/carers today. There is no indication of intended opening date or anticipated intake on opening.

After all these years! Happy for boys and their families who will benefit.

This is such good news. Fingers crossed it actually happens. Interesting day to release the news.

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Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad !

Yes. What are the chances, do you think, of KCC fast-tracking the process before a general election? I'd have thought they'd need DfE sign-off as for the WoK annexe, although having that precedent should make it quicker.

Oh, that is good news.

The formal consultation for the boys' annexe has opened and runs until 6 December.

Parents and carers of current TWGSB pupils were sent the proposal today.

Three forms of entry (90 places) for boys are planned for the annexe in Sevenoaks from September 2021, so the first cohort this proposal will benefit/impact will be those sitting the 11+ next year, 2020. There will still be 7 FE (210 places) at the main school site in Tunbridge Wells.

Let's hope they can staff 2 sites! My son at TWGSB had an ever-changing teaching rota last year so we're aware good staff are hard to find and harder to hold on to! Will be interesting to see if the election will change this process.

Yes, the Conservative manifesto is expected to support new grammar schools, and a stand-alone boys and girls' grammar at the annexe site in Sevenoaks would make more sense administratively.

Otherwise, with a Labour win or minority government, the TWGSB expansion will probably get through on existing legislation: as the school is KCC maintained and not an academy or free school, the only approval needed is KCC's, as I now understand it, whereas WoK as an academy needed DfE sign-off to expand.

I agree with you about the staffing challenge. The annexe teaching staff won't get London fringe rates, according to the consultation document, because the principal site is outside range, and support staff /management face all sorts of space and operational demarcation issues v WoK staff already occupying parts of the building especially as some facilities need to be "shared".

I was worried by the fact that the documentation says that A level tuition will largely be offered at the TW site. Does that mean that Sevenoaks TWGSB boys would have to commute to the TW site in the sixth form?

I guess it does, depending on subject choice, although by the time the first cohort gets through to KS5, hopefully there will be some collaboration in place with Weald and Trinity.

I know there has been collaboration historically amongst Tunbridge Wells-based grammars - TWGSB, TWGGS and Skinners' - in respect of timetabling clashes and subject availability at KS5 level. (I'm not sure if that is still the case though...) It would make sense for Weald and TWGSB to collaborate in respect of KS5 provision at the annexe given each will have relatively small cohorts there and both offer mixed (boys and girls) sixth forms.

Are you going to the public consultation meeting at the annexe on 20th November, lapindebois? That might be the best opportunity for questions.

Skinners' and TWGGS definitely still collaborate at A level. DS 2 has some TWGGS girls in his physics class and a few years ago ds1 did PE A level at Skinners' and again there were TWGGS girls in his class.

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Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad !