Holcombe Grammar School, Chatham

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In 2026, pupils at Holcombe Grammar School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 59.8, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.3 in Medway and 47 across England.

82% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 44% in Medway and 47% in England.

That is down from 62.4 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.15: pupils made above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 59.5, against 59.9 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 0.4 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Spanish, Combined Science and History.

Holcombe Grammar 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, 137 families put Holcombe Grammar School as their first choice and 968 named it as one of their preferences, for 179 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 50 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

Holcombe Grammar School admits pupils through an entrance test - in Medway, the Medway Test. Children have to be registered for it in advance, normally in the spring or summer of Year 5; the test itself is usually sat in September of Year 6, and results come out in October, before the 31 October deadline for naming secondary schools.

Passing the test makes a child eligible rather than guaranteeing a place: when more children pass than there are places, Holcombe Grammar School ranks them by the criteria in its admissions policy, which can include test score and distance. Check Medway's admissions pages and the school's own policy for this year's registration deadline - a child who is not registered in time cannot sit the test.

Medway has 6 state grammar schools in all, so a child who passes may have several selective schools to choose between.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Holcombe Grammar School are The Victory Academy (0.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 38.9); The Thomas Aveling School (0.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 38.8); St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 40.4); and The Rochester Grammar School (0.9 miles, Good, selective, Attainment 8 67.5).

Holcombe Grammar School's 2026 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.

Holcombe Grammar School is one of 26 schools run by The Thinking Schools Academy Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 45.9 in 2024/25.

Of the 137 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 98% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 8% to a further education college and 2% to an apprenticeship.

Of the 166 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 65% went on to university or other higher education, 7% to apprenticeships and 16% into work. 17% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

12.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 24 pupils (2.3%) received SEN support and 4 (0.4%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Chatham Rail Station, about 1 mile away in a straight line.

16 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Letchworth Avenue (opposite), 100 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Holcombe Grammar School stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 471 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Medway (250), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Holcombe Grammar School issued 101 suspensions, 9.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

The primary schools closest to Holcombe Grammar School are New Horizons Children's Academy (0.1 miles), Balfour Infant School (0.4 miles), Balfour Junior School (0.5 miles) and Wayfield Primary School (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.