Apply to Fort Pitt Grammar School, in plain English.
Fort Pitt Grammar became co-educational from 1 September 2026 — both boys and girls can now apply. Entry uses the Medway Test (separate from the Kent PESE). The oversubscription criteria have an unusual 4th criterion: children who live within 2 miles by road get priority over those in named parishes and the rest of the world.
The three things to know first.
If you read nothing else on this page, read these.
Fort Pitt became co-educational on 1 September 2026 — both boys and girls can apply.
From September 2026, Fort Pitt Grammar is a mixed (co-educational) school. Both boys and girls are eligible for Year 7 entry. If you have seen older information describing Fort Pitt as a girls' school, that is now out of date.
The Medway Test — register through Medway Council, separate from the Kent 11+.
Fort Pitt uses the Medway Test run by Medway Council. It is not the Kent PESE and has its own registration process. One Medway Test registration covers all four Medway grammar schools — you still apply separately to each on your CAF.
Living within 2 miles is the key criterion — then named parishes, then everyone else.
Fort Pitt's 4th criterion gives priority to children who live within 2 miles by road of the school. This acts as a local catchment tier. Criterion 5 then covers named Medway and north-Kent parishes. If you're outside both, you go into criterion 6 with everyone else — ranked by distance.
Four steps — starting with the Medway Test.
If more children pass than there are places, these 6 criteria decide.
Only children who passed the Medway Test are eligible. Places are allocated in strict order. Criteria 4–6 are all measured by Medway GIS road distance. Tap any criterion to see the exact wording.
In plain English: Children currently or previously in council care who passed the Medway Test get the highest priority.
What the document says: Looked-after children and all previously looked-after children who have met the selection requirements.
In plain English: Children who have a sibling (including step-siblings and adoptive siblings living at the same address) currently at Fort Pitt who will still be at the school in September 2027.
What the document says: A sibling attending the school at the time of application and expected to be at the school at the time of entry.
In plain English: Children whose parent or carer has been employed at Fort Pitt for at least 3 continuous years by the time of application. This is a higher bar than most grammar schools — the common threshold elsewhere is 2 years.
What the document says: Children of members of staff who have been employed at the school for three or more years at the time of application.
In plain English: All eligible children whose home is within 2 miles by road of the school (measured by Medway GIS) get priority over those further away, unless they are in an oversubscribed criterion above. Within this group, the closer child ranks higher.
What the document says: Children living within 2 miles of the school measured by Medway Council's GIS road-route measurement, ranked by distance (shortest first).
In plain English: Children living in one of the 11 named parishes get priority over all other eligible children, ranked within this group by how close they live to the school by road. The named parishes are: Allhallows, Cliffe and Cliffe Woods, Cooling, Cuxton, Frindsbury Extra (including Wainscott and Upnor), Halling, High Halstow, Hoo St Werburgh (including Chattenden), St James Isle of Grain, St Mary Hoo, Stoke.
What the document says: Children resident in the named civil parishes, ranked by shortest road route using Medway Council GIS measurement.
In plain English: Any other child who passed the Medway Test, regardless of where they live. Ranked by shortest road route from home to school using Medway GIS — closest first.
What the document says: All other eligible children, ranked by shortest road-route distance using Medway Council's GIS measurement.
Shortest road route — Medway Council GIS.
Distance appears in three of Fort Pitt's six criteria (4, 5, and 6) and is always measured the same way: the shortest available road route from the home address to the school entrance, using Medway Council's GIS mapping system. Road distance, not straight-line. The 2-mile threshold in criterion 4 also uses this road-route measurement.
Home address is your child's permanent address at the time of application. If parents live at different addresses, the address where the child spends the majority of the school week is used. Proof of residency may be requested.
See the approximate catchment on the GrammarBound mapTwo criterion-4 children: the closer one gets the place.
Both children passed the Medway Test and both live within 2 miles of the school, so both reach criterion 4. Child A's road route is 0.9 miles; Child B's is 1.8 miles by Medway GIS. Child A is closer and is offered the last criterion-4 place.
Joining Year 12 from outside.
Fort Pitt has a sixth form with 150 places at Year 12. There are minimum GCSE entry requirements.
Academic requirements
To be eligible for the sixth form, external applicants need at least 5 GCSEs at grade 5 or above, including grade 5 in both English and Maths, and an average point score (APS) of 5.0 across all GCSE subjects taken. Subject-specific requirements apply on top for individual A-level courses.
How to apply
The sixth form has capacity for 150 Year 12 students. Contact the school directly for the application process and deadlines for September 2027 entry. See fortpitt.medway.sch.uk for the sixth form prospectus.
You have two routes, and you can use both.
Waiting list
The waiting list is maintained in the same 6-criterion order and re-ranked each time a new name is added. Only children who passed the Medway Test can be added.
Appeal
Contact the school to request an Appeal Form. Appeals are heard by an independent panel and do not affect your waiting-list position.