Apply to The Judd School, in plain English.
The Judd School is a selective boys' grammar in Tonbridge with a mixed sixth form. Entry requires the Kent 11+ (PESE). Places in the main allocation are ranked primarily by score — the highest-scoring boys are offered first. Distance only resolves tied scores. Five Pupil Premium places are set aside in a separate pool each year.
The three things to know first.
If you read nothing else on this page, read these. They're the bits that catch parents out.
Ranking is by score, not proximity — the highest-scoring boy wins.
Unlike most Kent grammar schools, The Judd School allocates its main places by ranking boys in order of their Kent Test score. Distance is only used to break a tie between boys with identical scores. Living closer to the school gives no advantage on its own. This applies in both the Inner Area pool and the Outer Area pool.
Your postcode determines whether you're in the Inner Area (157 places) or Outer Area (23 places).
The Inner Area covers most of the Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells corridor: TN1–4, TN8–15, TN16 1** and 2**, ME18–19, DA4 0**, and the civil parish of Halstead. Boys in the Inner Area compete for 157 places; all other boys in England compete for just 23 Outer Area places. Check your postcode carefully — it matters significantly.
Five Pupil Premium places are set aside — but the SIF must be posted by 31 October.
Five Inner Area places are carved out in a separate pool for PP-eligible boys. Boys currently receiving Free School Meals are ranked first (by score); boys eligible for Pupil Premium in the last 6 years fill any remaining places (also by score). You must post the Supplementary Information Form to The Admissions Officer, The Judd School, Brook Street, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 2PN by 31 October 2026.
Five steps — starting with the Kent 11+.
From registering for the test to your son starting Year 7. Steps 3 and 4 both have 31 October deadlines.
Two pools, score-ranked. Your postcode determines which pool your son enters.
Children with an EHCP naming The Judd School are admitted first, reducing available places. Remaining boys are split into an Inner Area pool (157 places) and an Outer Area pool (23 places). Within each pool, boys are ranked by score — highest first. EHCP boys with ASD may also be allocated to the separate Resource Provision (4 places, allocated by the local authority).
In plain English: Boys currently or previously in council care (including those adopted from state care outside England) who passed the Kent Test receive the highest priority in both the Inner and Outer Area pools, ahead of score ranking.
What the document says: Any Looked After or Previously Looked-After Children who receive a 'Grammar Assessment' in the Kent Test, including those children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.
In plain English: Within your area pool, boys are ranked by their aggregate Kent Test score — highest first. A boy with a higher score ranks above one who lives much closer. Distance is only used to separate two boys with identical scores; a random draw (drawing lots) resolves any remaining tie.
What the document says: Academic Ability — This will be measured by ranked aggregate scores on the Kent PESE tests (the highest score being given the highest rank). Where scores are the same, students will be further ranked by distance from home to school (with the nearest given the highest ranking). A random selection will be applied should two or more applicants have the same score on the PESE test and the same distance from home to school.
In plain English: Five Inner Area places are held in a separate pool. Boys currently registered for Free School Meals (as at 31 October 2026) are ranked first by score. If any of the 5 places remain, they go to boys who qualify for Pupil Premium broadly (means-tested FSM at any point in the last 6 years), also ranked by score. A boy who secures a place via the PP pool frees up a spot in the main 152 allocation — so this pool can only help, never hurt, a PP-eligible boy's chances. Return the SIF to the school by post by 31 October 2026.
What the document says: Inner Area – Pupil Premium. Up to 5 places are made available. (1) Up to 5 places to students registered in the current academic year for Free School Meals, ranked according to aggregate score on the Kent PESE tests. (2) Any unallocated places of the 5 will be available to students eligible for the Pupil Premium, again ranked according to aggregate score. Applicants in this category will need to fill out a Supplementary Information Form.
Score first. Distance only breaks a tie.
The Judd School is one of the few Kent grammars where score is the primary criterion for who gets a place. Boys in each area pool are lined up in descending score order; the top-ranked boys are offered places. Distance is a tiebreaker only — it comes into play when two boys have identical scores. When distance is used, it is measured in a straight line.
Straight-line distances use 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 the approximate catchment on the GrammarBound mapHigher score beats a shorter commute.
Both boys are Inner Area; both passed the 11+. Boy A scored 420 and lives further away. Boy B scored 380 and lives closer. Boy A ranks higher and is offered a place. Boy B needs a higher score, not a shorter commute.
Joining Year 12 — open to boys and girls.
The Judd School has a mixed sixth form. The Published Admission Number for Year 12 is 140 external places, of which up to 7 are reserved for Pupil Premium-eligible students (mirroring the Year 7 structure). Internal students transfer automatically if they meet the entry requirements.
Average 6.5 from best 10 qualifications.
External applicants need a minimum average performance points score of 6.5 in their best 10 qualifications (or all qualifications if fewer than 10 completed). Foreign Language exams taken before the end of Year 11 are excluded from the average. A minimum of 6 GCSEs is required, including at least grade 4 in both Maths and English Language. Subject-specific requirements apply on top.
Apply online via the school website.
If oversubscribed, the main 133 places are ranked: LAC/PLAC → academic score (best 10) → distance → random. The 7 PP places follow the same two-tier Year 7 structure: current-year FSM first, then broader PP eligibility. The SIF deadline for sixth form PP is 31 July 2027.
See judd.online for the sixth form prospectus and subject entry requirements.
You have two routes, and you can use both.
Waiting list
Ask to be added to the Judd School waiting list after National Offer Day. The list is re-ranked each time a new name is added, using the same area-pool and score criteria. Boys with higher scores added later can jump above you. The list closes on 31 January 2028.
Appeal
Lodge an appeal with the school within 20 school days of your refusal letter. The Judd School's Governing Body is the admission authority — write to the Clerk to the Governors. Running an appeal does not affect your waiting-list position.