Cranbrook School: admissions history
How many families applied, how many places there were, and how far the last place went - every year we hold.
Cranbrook School is a grammar school: places go to children who reach the required standard in its entrance test, and only then are the oversubscription criteria applied.
For September 2026 entry, 143 families put Cranbrook School as their first choice and 281 named it as one of their preferences, for 88 places offered. That is 1.6 first choices for every place. 57 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Demand has been fairly steady: 157 first choices in 2021, against 143 in 2026.
Across Kent, 79% of families were offered their first-choice secondary school for 2026 entry, and 96% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2025, families in Kent lodged 2498 appeals against secondary school offers; 2231 reached a hearing and 595 succeeded (26.7% of those heard).
Applications and offers by year
| Entry year | Places offered | First choices | Named at all | First choices per place | First choices not offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 88 | 143 | 281 | 1.6 | 57 |
| 2025 | 89 | 140 | 272 | 1.6 | 53 |
| 2024 | 90 | 133 | 258 | 1.5 | 46 |
| 2023 | 90 | 147 | 268 | 1.6 | 61 |
| 2022 | 59 | 118 | 211 | 2.0 | 63 |
| 2021 | 57 | 157 | 326 | 2.8 | 102 |
| 2020 | 58 | 94 | 229 | 1.6 | 46 |
| 2019 | 60 | 92 | 216 | 1.5 | 37 |
| 2018 | 59 | 93 | 229 | 1.6 | 35 |
| 2017 | 30 | 52 | 140 | 1.7 | 24 |
Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school-level file). "Places offered" is the number of offers made on national offer day, which can differ from the school's published admission number.