Apply to Sir Roger Manwood's School, in plain English.
Manwood's is a mixed 5-form-entry selective grammar in Sandwich. Entry to Year 7 requires the Kent 11+ (PESE). The unusual element: Pupil Premium priority is restricted to specific postcodes and a 8.5-mile radius. The PP definition also includes the Service Premium for Armed Forces children.
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 child needs the Kent 11+ (PESE).
Only pupils with a selective Kent Test result are admitted to Year 7 at Manwood's. In-year applicants who didn't take the Kent Test sit the school's own 4-paper online test (Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Spatial Reasoning) with a standardized score of 110+ in each.
Pupil Premium priority is postcode + distance restricted.
The PP tier (criterion 3) only applies to children who are PP-eligible AND live in a CT3, CT11, CT12, CT13, CT14, CT15 or CT16 postcode AND within 8.5 miles of the school. All three conditions must apply. If you're PP-eligible but outside this area, you drop to tier 5 (distance).
Service Premium counts as Pupil Premium here.
The PP tier also includes children with parents currently serving in the UK regular armed forces, or who served at any time in the last three years, or who died in service and the child receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or War Pension Scheme. Return the SIF (plus proof) to the school by 31 October 2026.
Five steps, spread over a year.
From registering for the test to your child starting Year 7. Steps 3 and 4 both close on 31 October 2026.
If too many pupils pass the 11+, these 5 tiers decide.
EHCPs naming the school are admitted first (reducing the 150 PAN). Every other eligible child is sorted into the highest tier that applies; distance is the final tiebreaker. Tap any tier to see the document's exact wording.
In plain English: Children currently in council care, or who left care via adoption, child arrangements or special guardianship orders — including those adopted from state care outside England.
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: If your child will have a brother or sister (including adopted, step- or foster-siblings) already at Manwood's when they start, they get sibling priority.
What the document says: Sibling/s on roll at the time of entry — in this context sibling/s means children who live as brother or sister in the same house, including adopted siblings, stepbrothers or sisters and foster brothers or sisters.
In plain English: Children eligible for Pupil Premium OR Service Premium AND who live in postcode CT3, CT11, CT12, CT13, CT14, CT15 or CT16 AND who live within 8.5 miles of the school (straight-line via NLPG). Service Premium covers children with a parent currently serving in the UK regular armed forces, or who served in the last 3 years, or who died in service. The postcodes and distance were chosen by reference to where pupils offered a place on National Offer Day live since Manwood's became 5 forms of entry.
What the document says: Children in receipt of Pupil Premium who live within a CT3, CT11, CT12, CT13, CT14, CT15 or CT16 postcode and who live within a radius of 8.5 miles from Sir Roger Manwood's School. The postcodes and distance used in this criteria were decided by reference to where pupils offered a place on National Offer Day (1 March) live since the school moved to five forms of entry i.e. the area covered is that which current students reside in. The Pupil Premium category also includes those in receipt of the Service Premium. Parents wishing to apply under this Pupil Premium criterion must ensure they complete the school's Supplementary Information Form and return it to the school by 31 October in the year of application.
In plain English: If a parent has been employed at Manwood's for 2 or more years at the time of application, or has been recruited to fill a skill-shortage vacancy, your child gets priority here.
What the document says: Children of staff at the school where a member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission was made and/or the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
In plain English: Distance from your home to a fixed point at the school site (Manwood Road), measured as a single straight line. Routes, bus times and travel difficulty are not considered. If two children live at the same address point (e.g. a block of flats) or have the same distance, a verified random draw decides — drawn by a Governor and the Headteacher, independently supervised. Where parents live apart, the address used is the one where the child sleeps for the majority of week days.
What the document says: We use the distance between the child's permanent home address (defined in Kent County Council's annual admissions prospectus) and the school, measured in a straight line using the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) address point. Those living nearest are accorded the highest priority. A random selection will be applied in the event of more than one applicant having the same distance from home to school. The numbers will be drawn by a representative from the Governing Body and the Headteacher and be independently supervised.
Straight line — and an 8.5-mile circle for the PP tier.
Inside each tier — and as the main ranking in tier 5 — Manwood's uses the straight-line distance between your home and a fixed point at the Manwood Road site. The PP tier (criterion 3) only applies inside an 8.5-mile circle from the school and within the named postcodes. Outside that area, PP-eligible children drop to tier 5.
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 8.5-mile PP area on the GrammarBound mapThe 8.5-mile + postcode gate determines whether PP helps.
Both children passed the Kent Test; both are PP-eligible; neither has a sibling at the school. Child A lives in CT13 (Sandwich) within 6 miles of the school — both conditions met, so PP priority kicks in and they sit in tier 3. Child B lives in CT4 (south of Canterbury), 12 miles away — PP-eligible but outside the postcode/distance area, so they drop to tier 5 with everyone else, ranked only by distance.
Small external PAN; internal first.
Manwood's has a Year 12 target of 160. The Published Admission Number for external candidates is 10, but the school says this figure may be exceeded if internal Year 11 transfers don't fill the year group. Priority goes to existing Year 11 Manwood's students.
6 GCSEs at grade 5+, including English and Maths.
At least 6 GCSE passes at grade 5 or above, two of which must include English Language or English Literature and Mathematics. All Year 12 students study 3 A Levels; 4 A Levels (incl Further Maths) require 6 GCSE passes at grade 7 or above. Subject-specific entry criteria apply on top — see the Sixth Form prospectus.
Manwood's Y11 → LAC → Other externals (by predicted grade profile).
Priority order: (1) Y11 Manwood's students, (2) external LAC/PLAC, (3) all other external applicants — offers made based on space in subjects requested, with available spaces going to those with the highest predicted grade profile. More conditional offers are made than there are places (some applicants won't meet grades or will go elsewhere).
There is no waiting list because more conditional offers than places are issued. Apply via Kent Choices. Appeals to clerk@srms.kent.sch.uk.
You have two routes, and you can use both.
Waiting list
Eligible students are placed on a waiting list ranked by the 5 oversubscription criteria, re-ranked every time a child is added. The list is kept at least until the first day of the Spring Term in the admission year.
Appeal
Year 7 applicants are notified of the appeals process by the LA on National Offer Day. For in-year appeals, write to Admissions Appeals, Sir Roger Manwood's School, Manwood Road, Sandwich, CT13 9JX, or email clerk@srms.kent.sch.uk. Year 7 transfer appeals can be lodged at appealsclerks.co.uk.
If your child is currently at a Kent grammar that uses the Kent Test for Year 7, they're automatically eligible for consideration at Manwood's for in-year admission. Otherwise they sit the school's admission test — 4 online multiple-choice papers (Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Spatial Reasoning), about 1.5 hours total, with a standardized score of 110+ in each. Outcome and decision communicated within 2 school days of the test. Test results stay valid for the remainder of the academic year.