Medway Test: 11+

If you do not live in Medway or close to its boundary, it's unlikely that your child will be offered a grammar school place in Medway, even if your child passes the Medway Test.

All grammar schools in Medway are oversubscribed and places are mainly allocated based on how far your child lives from the school. Places are not allocated based on test score.

Children who live in or very close to Medway are most likely to be offered places.

Find out more about individual school oversubscription criteria.

What happens to children outside of Medway

Data from 2026 admissions shows:

• 2,379 non-Medway children registered for the test
• 1,426 of those children were assessed as grammar
• only 184 were offered a Medway grammar school place.

This means:

• less than 8% of non-Medway children who registered were offered a place
• less than 13% of non-Medway children assessed as grammar were successful
• for families outside of Kent, fewer than 3% received an offer.

It’s important to know that the Medway Test is used only by the 6 Medway grammar schools. It cannot be used for grammar schools in other areas.

Deciding whether to register your child

If you live outside Medway, you should consider whether registering for the Medway Test is appropriate, given the very low likelihood of receiving an offer.

It can be upsetting for children to study for and sit a test if they realistically have a low chance of being offered a place at one of the schools the test applies to.

Around 20% of non‑Medway children who register do not attend the test. We still have to pay for their test papers, venues and staff if they do not attend.

If you're not sure whether your child will attend, or whether applying for a grammar school in Medway is realistic, you may wish to reconsider registering for the test.