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Tonbridge Grammar School

Founded in 1905, Tonbridge Grammar School has spent over a century shaping confident, high-achieving girls. Entry is keenly competitive and decided purely by Kent Test score — every mark counts.
Exam board
GL
Entry
Year 7
Founded
1905
Year 7 places
180
Tonbridge Grammar School logo

Tonbridge Grammar School

SMA Difficulty
Advanced
Location: Tonbridge, Kent
School type: Grammar
Admissions test: GL
Free 11+ Baseline Assessment
LOCATION & GETTING THERE

Where Tonbridge Grammar School sits — and how to reach it

● Schools● Trains● Buses● School coaches
LOCATION
Tonbridge Grammar School
Deakin Leas, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 2JR
Other selective schools nearby, closest first — useful if you are considering more than one.
Weald of Kent Grammar School
Tonbridge, Kent · 0.4 km away
View guide →
The Judd School
Tonbridge, Kent · 0.9 km away
View guide →
Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys
Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent · 3.6 km away
View guide →
Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School
Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent · 4.5 km away
View guide →
Nearest railway and Underground stations, with the lines that serve them. Distances are straight-line from the school.
Tonbridge
0.9 km from the school — Southeastern: London to Sevenoaks, Hastings and Kent Coast services
High Brooms
3.8 km from the school — Southeastern: Hastings line between London Charing Cross and Hastings
Leigh (Kent)
4.6 km from the school — Southeastern: Redhill to Tonbridge line
Deakin Leas
0.2 km from the school — routes 211
Tonbridge Grammar School
0.3 km from the school — routes 211
Bus stops closest to the school, with the routes that serve them. Distances are straight-line from the school.
Tonbridge
0.9 km from the school — Southeastern: London to Sevenoaks, Hastings and Kent Coast services
High Brooms
3.8 km from the school — Southeastern: Hastings line between London Charing Cross and Hastings
Leigh (Kent)
4.6 km from the school — Southeastern: Redhill to Tonbridge line
Deakin Leas
0.2 km from the school — routes 211
Tonbridge Grammar School
0.3 km from the school — routes 211
Coach services run by the school itself, where they exist.
Tonbridge
0.9 km from the school — Southeastern: London to Sevenoaks, Hastings and Kent Coast services
High Brooms
3.8 km from the school — Southeastern: Hastings line between London Charing Cross and Hastings
Leigh (Kent)
4.6 km from the school — Southeastern: Redhill to Tonbridge line
Deakin Leas
0.2 km from the school — routes 211
Tonbridge Grammar School
0.3 km from the school — routes 211
Private coach services are run by local operators — confirm routes and seats directly each September.
ON THIS PAGE
OVERVIEW

How the test is structured

Tonbridge Grammar School selects via the Kent Test (GL Assessment), taken in September of Year 6. Paper 1 (one hour) covers English and Maths in two consecutive 30-minute sections; Paper 2 (one hour) covers Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning. All questions are multiple-choice and marked electronically. A separate 40-minute creative writing task is completed alongside the papers but does not contribute to the scored total; it is held in reserve for headteacher review of borderline cases. Standardised scores are reported for each component, with a combined maximum of 423.

The school's Year 7 PAN is 180, split into 135 Area Places (for girls resident in the Tonbridge and Malling, Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks local authority areas) and 35 Trustee Places (open to applicants anywhere in the UK). Within each band, places are offered strictly in score order, with distance as the sole tie-breaker. The published qualifying threshold is 332 with no individual score below 107, though effective entry scores are considerably higher.

HISTORY & ETHOS

The school's story

Tonbridge Grammar School traces its origins to 24 January 1905, when Tonbridge County School opened at the Technical Institute in Avebury Avenue, Tonbridge, with just 19 girls on the roll under its founding headmistress, Miss Taylor, who introduced the school's motto, Courage and Honour. Growth was rapid: by 1913 the school had outgrown its original premises and moved to its permanent home on Deakin Leas, where it has remained for more than a century. The Education Act 1944 transformed it into the County Grammar School for Girls, and selective entry by the Eleven Plus became the norm from that point forward.In 2002 the school began admitting boys into its Sixth Form and changed its name to Tonbridge Grammar School, while retaining an all-girls intake for Years 7 to 11. Notable alumnae include Rebecca Stephens MBE, the first British woman to summit Everest and all Seven Summits, and Lynn Wallis OBE, former Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Dance. This record of determined achievement reflects an academic culture that rewards systematic, deep understanding over rote repetition — precisely the ethos that makes Singapore's mastery methodology so effective for girls preparing to join TGS.

Why the maths is genuinely hard

TGS allocates places purely by Kent Test score within each catchment band — there is no headteacher interview. Girls competing for the 135 Area Places face a field drawn from three large local authority districts, making score maximisation paramount. The school also offers the IB Diploma alongside A-levels in the Sixth Form.

SMA DIFFICULTY VERDICT

Our honest take on the difficulty

The SMA Verdict

3.5

/5

Advanced

Tonbridge Grammar uses the Kent Test (GL Assessment), so the decisive factor is speed under time pressure: one hour for both English and Maths combined, then a further hour of reasoning. Allocation is purely score-ranked, meaning a single additional mark can shift a girl several places in the queue. Singapore's mastery model — especially bar modelling for multi-step problems and the structured CPA progression — builds exactly the confident, error-free calculation speed that converts a borderline score into a comfortable offer at TGS.

CATCHMENT & TOWNS

Where families come from

Tonbridge
Tunbridge Wells
Sevenoaks
Hildenborough
Hadlow
Paddock Wood
West Malling
Borough Green
Edenbridge
Westerham
KEY DATES

The 11+ admissions calendar

June 2026Kent Test registration opens
July 2026Kent Test registration closes
September 2026Kent Test (in-county pupils)
October 2026Kent Test results released
October 2026Common Application Form deadline
FAQ

Parents' most common questions

How does TGS allocate its 180 Year 7 places?

Places are split into 135 Area Places for girls living in the Tonbridge and Malling, Tunbridge Wells or Sevenoaks local authority areas, and 35 Trustee Places for girls outside that zone. Within each band, offers are made strictly in order of Kent Test total score. Distance from the school is used only to break exact ties.

What qualifying score does Tonbridge Grammar School require?

Girls must pass the Kent Test with a combined score of at least 332 and no individual paper score below 107. However, because places are score-ranked, the actual score required in any given year is higher than the pass mark — a score in the 350–370+ range is typically needed to secure a place comfortably.

Is Tonbridge Grammar School girls-only throughout?

Girls only in Years 7 to 11. The Sixth Form is co-educational, offering both A-levels and the International Baccalaureate Diploma — relatively unusual for a state grammar school and a genuine draw for academically ambitious students.

How does the Kent Test Maths section work?

The Maths section is 30 minutes long and forms the second half of Paper 1 (after 30 minutes of English). Questions cover KS2 topics — number, ratio, fractions, geometry, algebra foundations and data — but the pace is relentless. Singapore bar modelling and structured number sense training significantly reduce the time lost to working out complex word problems under pressure.

When should we register for the Kent Test?

Registration opens in June and closes in July for entry the following September. The test itself is held in September of Year 6, with results released in mid-October. The Common Application Form must be submitted to your home local authority by 31 October.
EXAM PAPERS

Past and sample papers

COMING SOON

We're gathering the sample and familiarisation papers Tonbridge Grammar School publishes, so you can see the real thing before you prepare. If you'd like them sooner, just ask.

NEARBY SCHOOLS

Other selective schools in the area

Weald of Kent Grammar School
Tonbridge, Kent · 0.4 km
View guide →
The Judd School
Tonbridge, Kent · 0.9 km
View guide →
Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys
Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent · 3.6 km
View guide →
Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School
Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent · 4.5 km
View guide →

Preparing for Tonbridge Grammar School?

We teach the reasoning these papers actually reward — not test tricks. Small online groups, qualified teachers, and a Singapore Maths method built on genuine understanding.