Apply to St Olave's Grammar School, in plain English.
St Olave's runs its own two-stage selective test — completely separate from both the Kent PESE and the Bexley 11+. The SIF (test registration form) must be submitted by 29 June 2026 at midday. No late applications are accepted under any circumstances. Up to 10 places are reserved for Pupil Premium-eligible boys, with evidence submitted at registration.
The three things to know first.
If you read nothing else on this page, read these.
St Olave's runs its own 2-stage test — SIF closes 29 June 2026 at midday.
The school uses the SET (Secondary Education Test) as Stage 1 on 18 September 2026, then invites the top 450 scorers back for Stage 2 English and Maths papers on 13 November 2026. You must submit the SIF directly to the school by 29 June 2026 at midday — no late applications are accepted.
Up to 10 places are reserved for Pupil Premium boys — but evidence must be at registration.
Up to 10 of the 124 places are set aside for boys eligible for the Pupil PremiumPupil Premium (PP)Broadly covers children who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the six years before the test registration deadline. Evidence must come from the child's current primary school., ranked by their overall test score. Evidence of eligibility — obtained from your son's current primary school — must be submitted alongside the SIF at registration. It cannot be added later.
There is no catchment area. All eligible boys in England can apply and compete by rank.
St Olave's has no geographic catchment. After LAC and PP places are allocated, all remaining places go to the highest-ranked boys in rank order — regardless of where they live. Distance is not used as a tiebreaker within criteria. If scores are equal, the Maths paper is the first tiebreak, followed by the creative writing paper, then English multiple choice, then the SET, and finally a random number generator.
Five steps — starting now.
If more boys sit the test than there are places, these 3 criteria decide.
After the test, all boys are ranked by their combined standardised score. Places are then allocated by the order below. Within each criterion, rank order (highest score first) applies. Tap any criterion to see the exact wording.
In plain English: Boys currently or previously in council care get highest priority, ranked by their combined test score. This group is small in practice.
What the document says: Highest priority will be given to looked-after children and all previously looked-after children, in rank order.
In plain English: Up to 10 places are reserved for PP-eligible boys, ranked by their combined test score. PP means your son has been eligible for free school meals at any point in the six years leading up to the test registration closing date. Evidence must be obtained from his current primary school and submitted with the SIF at registration — not later.
What the document says: Up to 10 places for children eligible for Pupil Premium (i.e. eligible for free school meals at any point in the six years prior to the test registration closing date), in rank order. Evidence from current primary school required at registration.
In plain English: The remaining places (up to 114, assuming 10 PP places are filled) go to the highest-scoring boys in rank order, regardless of where they live. There is no catchment area and no distance tiebreaker — rank order alone decides. Tiebreak order if scores are equal: Maths paper score → creative writing mark → English multiple choice mark → SET score → random number generator.
What the document says: Remaining places offered in rank order to all other applicants. Tiebreak: highest mark in Maths paper; then creative writing paper; then English multiple choice; then SET score; then random number generator.
Choristerships: Up to 4 additional places may be awarded outside normal admissions, via the King's Chapel of the Savoy chorister programme. These are separate to the 124 Year 7 places and are advertised directly by the Chapel. They do not affect the main admissions process.
No geographic boundary. Rank order decides everything.
St Olave's has no catchment area and no geographic restriction. After LAC and PP places are filled, all remaining places go to the highest-ranking boys by combined standardised test score — regardless of where they live. A boy in Kent, Essex, or anywhere else in England competes on exactly the same terms as a boy in Orpington. Distance is never used, even as a tiebreaker.
The only tiebreaker (if two boys have exactly equal combined scores across all papers) is: Maths paper mark → creative writing mark → English multiple choice mark → SET score → random number generator. Distance plays no part, even as a final tiebreaker. Home address has no bearing on the outcome.
See St Olave's location on the GrammarBound mapTwo criterion-3 boys ranked by score — not by where they live.
Both boys are not LAC or PP, so they fall into criterion 3 (everyone else, by rank). Child A scored 312 and lives far from school. Child B scored 298 and lives much closer. Child A ranks above Child B because rank — not proximity — decides. Living nearby gives no advantage whatsoever at St Olave's.
Joining Year 12 from outside.
St Olave's recruits 97 external students into Year 12. Unusually, the sixth form is co-educational — boys AND girls are welcome for sixth form entry, even though Year 7–11 is boys only.
Academic requirements
You need at least 9 GCSEs with a total of 63 points across all subjects. Individual subjects must include at least a grade 7 or above in any subjects you intend to study at A-level, and at least grade 6 in English and Maths. The planned sixth form cohort is around 225 students in total (Year 12 and 13 combined).
How to apply
97 external places are available for September 2027 entry. Apply directly to the school. Conditional offers are made on GCSE results day only — not before. The waiting list for sixth form is maintained in admissions criteria order.
Visit saintolaves.net for the application form and deadline.
You have two routes, and you can use both.
Waiting list
The waiting list is maintained in the same admissions criteria order and re-ranked each time a new name is added. Only boys who completed the test process can be on the waiting list.
Request via St Olave's Admissions directly.
Appeal
Contact the school's Admissions Officer to request an Appeal Form. Appeals are heard by an independent School Appeals Panel. Appealing does not remove your son from the waiting list.