Best Medway Grammar Schools 2026/27

There are five grammar schools in Medway covered in this guide: Fort Pitt Grammar School and Chatham Grammar (both girls, in Chatham), Holcombe Grammar School (boys, in Chatham), Rochester Grammar School (girls, in Rochester) and Rainham Mark Grammar School (co-educational, in Gillingham). All select pupils through the Medway Test.

The Medway Test is Medway's 11+ entrance exam, set by GL Assessment. It has three papers: English (comprehension, punctuation and grammar, 30 minutes), Mathematics (50 minutes) and Reasoning (verbal and spatial/non-verbal reasoning, 45 minutes in total). The papers are written specifically for Medway Council, and there is a short break between each one.

There is no fixed pass mark. Each paper is age-standardised, then weighted (English x2, Maths x2, Reasoning x1) to give a total weighted score. The highest-scoring children — equivalent to around the top 26% at Medway maintained schools — are assessed as suitable for grammar. The minimum qualifying score changes yearly: it was 481 for 2026 entry, 482 for 2025 and 492 for 2024.

For September 2027 entry, registration on the Medway Parent Portal opens at 9am on Monday 18 May 2026 and closes at 5pm on Friday 12 June 2026. The test is sat on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 September 2026 for children at Medway schools (or Saturday 19/Sunday 20 September 2026 for children from outside Medway). Results are released on Wednesday 14 October 2026, and the secondary school application deadline is Saturday 31 October 2026.

You must register your child yourself — there is no automatic entry, even if they already attend a Medway primary or junior school. Registration is done online through the Medway Parent Portal before the June deadline, and late registrations are not accepted. Remember that registering for the test is separate from applying for a school place, which you do during the September to October application window.

The Medway Test is used for Medway grammar schools and the Kent Test for Kent grammar schools. They are separate exams sat on different dates, so a child who wants to be considered in both areas must register for and sit both. The one exception is Chatham Grammar, which accepts children assessed as suitable through either the Medway Test or the Kent Test.

Yes. Any child can sit the Medway Test whether or not they live in Medway, but it must be sat in person at a Medway test venue (children from outside Medway are allocated either Saturday 19 or Sunday 20 September 2026). Bear in mind that passing the test does not guarantee a place — if a school is oversubscribed, places are allocated on its oversubscription criteria, which are usually based on distance from the school, so families living further from Medway are less likely to be offered a place.

It is a mix. Fort Pitt Grammar School, Chatham Grammar and Rochester Grammar School are girls' schools, Holcombe Grammar School is a boys' school, and Rainham Mark Grammar School is co-educational. Several of the single-sex schools have a mixed sixth form, so boys and girls can study together from Year 12.

There is no single "best" — the right school depends on your child and where you live. Fort Pitt Grammar School is the only Medway grammar currently rated Outstanding by Ofsted (across all areas, including sixth form), while Rochester Grammar School is consistently among the top in Medway for GCSE attainment. Chatham Grammar, Holcombe Grammar School and Rainham Mark Grammar School are all rated Good. Visit open events and weigh up location, single-sex versus co-ed, and sixth-form options.

Yes — all five Medway grammar schools have a sixth form (ages 11 to 18), and several of the single-sex schools run a mixed sixth form. To prepare for the Medway Test, build strong English, Maths and reasoning skills from Year 4 to 5, use the official GL Assessment familiarisation materials, and practise under timed conditions. Prep4All's GL-style practice papers for English, Maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning help children get comfortable with the Medway Test format and pacing before the September exam.