Apply to Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys, in plain English.
The Langton — as it's locally known — is a selective boys' grammar in Canterbury with a mixed sixth form. Entry to Year 7 requires the Kent 11+ (PESE). Unlike most Kent grammars, places are tiered by score: boys who score 20 or more marks above the pass mark are considered first, then boys living within a 9-mile radius, then everyone else.
The three things to know first.
If you read nothing else on this page, read these. They're the bits that catch parents out.
Score matters — boys 20+ above pass mark get priority.
The Langton splits eligible boys into two scoring tiers. Boys whose Kent Test score is 20 or more marks above the pass mark are considered first (criterion 2 and 3); other boys who just passed compete for any remaining places (criterion 4). Distance is only a tiebreaker.
There's a 9-mile priority area for high scorers.
After criterion 2 (high-scoring boys with Health, Sibling or PP claims) is filled, the next chunk of places goes to boys scoring +20 who live within a 9-mile radius of the school — ranked by proximity. If you live further away, you compete in criterion 4 instead.
Pupil Premium is a sub-ranking, not its own tier.
Inside both criterion 2 and criterion 4, claims are ranked Health → Sibling → Pupil Premium → (in criterion 4) Proximity. Send the SIF to admissions@thelangton.kent.sch.uk by 1 November 2026.
Five steps, spread over a year.
From registering for the test to your son starting Year 7. Steps 3 and 4 both have late October/1 November 2026 deadlines.
Four tiers, then sub-criteria inside each.
EHCPs naming the school are admitted first (reducing the 150 PAN). Three boys per year are also admitted to the separate ASD programme — these don't count against the 150. Remaining places follow the four-tier system below. Tap any tier to see the document's exact wording.
In plain English: Boys currently in council care, or who left care via adoption, child arrangements or special guardianship orders — including from state care outside England. They are placed first regardless of Kent Test score, as long as they hold a "grammar" assessment.
What the document says: A looked after child is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time of making an application to a school. A previously looked after child means such children who were adopted (or subject to child arrangements orders or special guardianship orders) immediately following having been looked after and those children who appear to the admission authority 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: Boys whose Kent Test score is 20 or more marks above the pass mark, taken in order: (i) those with a Health or Special Access claim supported by a qualified practitioner, (ii) those with a brother already at the school, (iii) those eligible for Pupil Premium with the SIF completed.
What the document says: Boys whose Kent Test score is twenty or more marks above the pass mark in order of: (i) Boys whose parents can prove that attendance at the school is essential based on reasons of Health or Special Access. (ii) Boys with a brother or sister attending the school at the time of entry. (iii) Boys who are designated as receiving 'Pupil Premium' — Applicants under this criterion must complete a Supplementary Information Form so that checks can be made to determine eligibility.
In plain English: After criterion 2 is filled, the next places go to high-scoring boys (Kent Test +20 above pass mark) living within a 9-mile straight-line radius of the school, ranked by proximity — nearest first. If you live more than 9 miles from the school, you compete in criterion 4 even with a high score.
What the document says: Boys living within a 9-mile radius of the school. Boys whose Kent Test score is twenty or more marks above the pass mark in order of proximity to the boy's home, with those living nearer being given higher priority.
In plain English: Any other boy who passed the Kent Test — including high scorers living beyond the 9-mile radius — is ranked: (i) Health/Special Access, (ii) Sibling, (iii) Pupil Premium, (iv) Proximity. If two boys tie on all of these, a verified random draw decides.
What the document says: Other qualifying boys (i.e. those who achieve the required standard for selective education through the Kent assessment procedure), in order of: (i) Health and Special Access Reasons (ii) Boys with a brother or sister attending the school at the time of entry (iii) Boys who are designated as receiving 'Pupil Premium' (iv) Proximity to the boy's home, with those living nearer being given higher priority. In the unlikely event that two or more children in all other ways have equal eligibility for the last available place at the school, the names will be issued a number and drawn randomly to decide which child should be given the place.
A 9-mile circle, then straight lines inside.
The Langton's 9-mile priority area is a straight-line radius from the school. If you live inside that circle and your son scored 20+ above the pass mark, he competes for the criterion 3 places ranked by proximity. If you live outside it, you go to criterion 4 — and your high score no longer carries priority.
Distance uses 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. address point. For new-build homes not yet in that database, KCC uses planning coordinates.
See the 9-mile priority area on the GrammarBound mapInside the 9 miles, a high scorer beats a closer-but-lower scorer.
Boy A scored +30 above the pass mark and lives 4 miles from the school — he sits in criterion 3 (high scorers in the 9-mile area, by proximity). Boy B lives just 2 miles away but only just passed — he sits in criterion 4 and competes only after criteria 1–3 are filled. Without a sibling, PP or Health claim, his closer address can't beat Boy A's higher score.
Mixed sixth form — girls join here.
The Langton has a mixed sixth form recruiting on the basis of a Year 12 cohort of 220. The external PAN is 60, but more may be admitted if internal students don't fill 160 places. Priority goes to current Langton Year 11s, then partner-school applicants (Canterbury Academy), then everyone else.
50 GCSE points, plus 4 in Maths and English.
Applicants need a total of 50 points in GCSE or other Level 2 qualifications, including grade 4 or better in both Mathematics and English Language. Plus the specific subject requirements for each A Level (minimum of three) detailed in the Sixth Form Prospectus.
Internal → Canterbury Academy → Others.
Existing Year 11 Langton boys come first. Then applicants from the partner school, Canterbury Academy. Then everyone else. If oversubscribed within categories 2 or 3, places are ranked: LAC → PP (calendar year before entry) → highest average performance points score in best 9 Level 2 qualifications → distance → random.
Apply by 1 March via the school website. Conditional offers are made on predicted grades and become firm when GCSE results are confirmed in August.
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 waiting list uses the same 4-tier criteria; a boy added later with a higher score, or who lives within the 9-mile area, can jump above you.
Appeal
Write to the Clerk to the Governors at the school. Refusal letters give the deadline and grounds. Appeals are heard by an independent panel, not the school itself, and do not affect your waiting-list position.
The Langton runs a county-funded ASD programme for boys with a Statement of SEN/EHCP. Three places per year group are strictly reserved, with designated learning support assistants. These places are allocated by the local authority — not by the school — and sit alongside the standard PAN of 150.