Gravesend Grammar School is a popular school serving the community of Gravesham and its neighbouring parishes. Places are at a premium with year groups frequently over-subscribed. As a selective school, we require students joining us to meet our academic requirement. For those joining at the beginning of Year 7, this mean success in the Kent Test (sometimes known as the 11+). For those seeking entry at other points in the secondary school we have entrance examinations which determine eligibility for entry.
There are three entry points for admission into Gravesend Grammar School:
Admission to Year 7 in September 2021
Children being admitted in September 2021 will have been deemed selective following the Procedure for Entry into Secondary Education (PESE). This means they will have passed their Kent Test or will have been deemed of selective ability at a headteachers’ review. Additionally, there will usually be students joining us who have achieved neither of these, but who have successfully appealed the decision not to offer them a place.
The Kent Test is normally sat in September each year and parents know the outcome before they select school preferences. Due to Covid-19, the Kent Test this year will be sat in October, and parents will not know the outcome before they are required to submit their Secondary School Common Application Form (SCAF). There will be the opportunity to choose six preference schools, as opposed to the normal four, to ensure that students are not disadvantaged. Parents submit their preferences online. Those wishing to gain a place at Gravesend Grammar School should include us as one of their preferences. We do not require a supplementary form except for students in receipt of pupil premium. Kent County Council will allocate students a school. Parents will be informed of this decision in March 2021. Parents unhappy with the outcome have the opportunity to appeal to the schools they listed. Each school will provide its own independent appeals panel who have the authority to direct the school to admit the child.
Gravesend would normally host open mornings and evenings to allow parents to view the school in action and to hear speeches from the head and other senior staff. This year we will be doing all of this in various forms online, and parents will be able to view these resources prior to submitting their SCAF; please see our virtual tour on the Home Page.
Our admissions arrangements afford priority to local children. We do not prioritise using scores achieved in the Kent Test. We may require evidence to show that applications have been submitted using the actual permanent home address of the child.
Further information:
GGS Arrangements for Admissions 2021-22
Procedure for Establishing Residency
Supplementary Form for Pupils in receipt of Pupil Premium
Casual Admissions Years 7 – 11
Parents wishing to transfer their child from another secondary school should complete an in-year application form. Where a child has moved into Gravesham or its neighbouring regions and is, or will be, without a school, we will endeavour to process the application quickly so that the child does not miss out on his education. A parent seeking to transfer their son from a local secondary school should apply in May/June of one academic year for entry in September of the next.
Where spaces exist and the entry requirement has been met, we will admit the student. Parents have the right to appeal a decision not to admit their child.
Admission into Sixth Form
Most students transfer directly from our Year 11 into Sixth Form. A dditionally we provide places for students from other schools. More information about entry into Sixth Form can be found on our Sixth Form pages.
Appeals
Any decision to refuse entry requires the school to provide parents the opportunity to appeal. Parents should complete an appeal form which they send to the Clerk to the Governors at the school address. Appeals are heard by a panel independent of the school who have the authority to direct the school to admit the child. The appeals clerk will contact parents with a date, time and venue for their appeal and will issue them with information about the process and the evidence they should seek to provide.
Years 7 – 11: Mr I Cook, Admissions Manager, 01474 331893 ext 1248 – admissions@gravesendgrammar.com
6th Form: Ms S Asbury, 6th Form Administrator – asburys@gravesendgrammar.com