Apply to Gravesend Grammar, in plain English.
Everything a parent needs to know about admission for September 2027 — the deadline, the 11+, the eight tie-breaker rules, and what to do if your son doesn't get a place. The legal version is one click away.
The three things to know first.
If you read nothing else on this page, read these. They're the bits that catch parents out.
Your son needs the Kent 11+.
Gravesend Grammar only admits boys judged "suited to grammar school" by Kent's 11+ assessment11+ / PESEKent's selective assessment in Year 6 — two papers covering English, maths and reasoning.. Register with KCC in June 2026, separately from the school application.
You apply through your council.
List Gravesend Grammar on your council's SCAFSecondary Common Application FormThe single form you submit to your home council listing up to six schools in order of preference. by 31 October 2026, even if you don't live in Kent. The school does not take direct applications.
8 tiers, then distance, decide.
If too many boys pass, eligible applicants are sorted into 8 ranked tiers — children in care first, then siblings, then where you live. Distance to school breaks ties inside each tier.
Five steps, spread over a year.
From registering for the test to your son starting Year 7. Step 3 is the deadline that has caught families out — miss it and everything else doesn't matter.
If too many boys pass the 11+, these 8 tiers decide.
Every eligible boy is sorted into the highest tier that applies to them. Inside each tier, Pupil Premium children rank first, then distance to the school decides the rest. Tap any tier to see the document's exact wording.
In plain English: Children in the care of a council, or who were before being adopted, get top priority. This also covers children adopted from state care outside England.
What the document says: "Looked after" means a child being cared for, or housed, by a local authority under Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989. "Previously looked after" covers children adopted from care, on a child arrangements order, or under a special guardianship order. Children who were in state care outside England and then adopted are treated the same way.
In plain English: If you or your son has a medical, mental-health or social-care need that means this school in particular is the right one, you can ask for priority here. You'll need a letter from a doctor or qualified practitioner.
What the document says: Applied under the Equality Act 2010. Priority goes to children whose physical or mental impairment — or a parent or guardian's — gives a real, specific reason that only this school can meet. Written evidence from a doctor or suitably qualified practitioner is required, showing the connection between the need and the school.
In plain English: If your son will have a brother or step-brother at Gravesend Grammar in September 2027, he gets priority here.
What the document says: "Sibling" means children living as brother or sister in the same house. That includes natural, adopted, step- and foster siblings. The sibling must still be attending the school in the year your son starts.
In plain English: If a parent has worked at the school for at least 2 years, or has been hired into a hard-to-fill role.
What the document says: Applies where a parent has been employed by the school for a minimum of two years at the time of application, or where they were recruited to fill a vacant post for which there was a demonstrable skills shortage.
In plain English: Boys living anywhere in Gravesham borough come next.
What the document says: Distance is used as a tie-break within this group — see the "How distance works" section.
In plain English: Boys living in Ash-cum-Ridley, Bean, Fawkham, Hartley, Longfield & New Barn, Southfleet, Swanscombe & Greenhithe, Stansted, or the Ebbsfleet unparished area.
What the document says: Civil parishes named in the arrangements. Distance ties the rank within this group.
In plain English: Boys living in Stone, Darenth, Horton Kirby & South Darenth, or Cliffe & Cliffe Woods.
What the document says: If you live in one of these parishes you sit just below the inner ring. Distance breaks ties.
In plain English: Any other boy who has been judged suited to grammar school by the Kent 11+, regardless of where they live.
What the document says: Places that remain after criteria 1–7 go to other eligible children, ranked again by distance from the school in a straight line.
Straight line, not driving time.
Inside each tier — and again to fill remaining places — Kent measures the distance between your home and a fixed point on the school site as a single straight line. Routes, bus times and travel difficulty are not considered.
Addresses come from the National Land and Property GazetteerNLPGThe official UK address database. Distance is measured as a straight line between two address points: your home and a fixed point at the school.. For new-build homes not yet in that database, planning coordinates are used instead.
See it on the GrammarBound mapHow two addresses get ranked.
Both boys live in Gravesham, both passed the 11+, neither has a sibling at the school. Inside criterion 5, House A's straight-line distance is shorter — so it ranks higher. If two addresses tie exactly, a random draw decides.
You have two routes, and you can use both.
Waiting list
Ask Kent County Council to add your son after National Offer DayNational Offer DayThe single day around 1 March on which every English council releases secondary-school offers. You hear by email or letter.. The list is re-ranked every time a child joins, using the same eight criteria. There's no "queue" — late additions can jump above you if they're in a higher tier.
The waiting-list form lives on the KCC admissions website, not the school's.
Appeal
Write to the Clerk to the Governors at the school. Your refusal letter will include the deadline and grounds. Appeals are heard by an independent panel, not by the school itself.
Running an appeal does not jeopardise your waiting-list position.
Not normally allowed. Email the headteacher as early as you can, ideally with written evidence specific to your son. The school decides — and if they agree, a paper SCAF is then sent to the local authority with their written agreement attached.
A separate route in at 16.
Year 7 is the main entry point — but Sixth Form takes up to 30 external students each year, with the same eight oversubscription rules plus a sporting-aptitude route.
The grade floor.
Two GCSEs at grade 5 and four at grade 6 — including grade 5 in English Language and Maths. English Language grade 4 is the absolute floor. Course-specific requirements apply on top, in the Sixth Form subject prospectus.
Three performance sports.
If your child meets the academic floor and excels in one of these, they can apply via assessment day (Feb–Apr 2026). Contact the head of PE by the application deadline to be invited. Applying for a sport place doesn't affect your other Sixth Form application.