Tonbridge Grammar School, Tonbridge

From the headteacher's welcome: "We are a high achieving selective grammar school with academy status, educating girls between the ages of 11 and 16, and girls and boys in our Sixth Form. Our school community encourages all students to reach their potential in a caring environment where wellbeing is the priority."

Coming up: an open evening on Wednesday 4 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Tonbridge Grammar School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 77, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 48.1 in Kent and 47 across England.

97% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 49% in Kent and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 77.2.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.75: pupils made well above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Biology, Physics and Chemistry.

Tonbridge 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, 353 families put Tonbridge Grammar School as their first choice and 975 named it as one of their preferences, for 180 places offered. That is 2 first choices for every place. 181 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

Tonbridge Grammar School admits pupils through an entrance test - in Kent, the Kent 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, Tonbridge Grammar School ranks them by the criteria in its admissions policy, which can include test score and distance. Check Kent'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.

Kent has 32 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 Tonbridge Grammar School are Weald of Kent Grammar School (0.3 miles, Requires improvement, selective, Attainment 8 69.3); Hillview School for Girls (0.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.1); The Judd School (0.5 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 78.3); and Leigh Academy Tonbridge (0.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.9).

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

223 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Tonbridge Grammar School (as of September 2025): 96% would recommend the school, 96% say their child is happy there and 68% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (98%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (68%).

Of the 175 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 95% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 1% to a further education college and 1% into work.

Of the 114 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 81% went on to university or other higher education, 1% to apprenticeships and 10% into work. 72% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

2.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 44 pupils (3.8%) received SEN support and 4 (0.3%) 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 Tonbridge Rail Station, about 790 metres away (roughly a 10-minute walk).

6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Lavender Hill (adjacent), 180 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Tonbridge Grammar School stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. On income deprivation affecting children it is in the 8th decile, where the 1st is the most deprived. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In 2024/25, Tonbridge Grammar School issued 2 suspensions, 0.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Tonbridge Grammar School are Royal Rise Primary School (0.4 miles), Sussex Road Community Primary School (0.6 miles), Bishop Chavasse Primary School (0.7 miles) and Slade Primary School and Attached Unit for Children with Hearing Impairment (0.9 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.