Maidstone, Kent · Kent
Maidstone Grammar School for Girls
Quietly dropped its own score-ranked admissions tier last year — 30 of 210 places used to go purely by Kent Test score, until a 2024-25 consultation removed it.
Until Sept 2025 entry, 30 of MGGS's 210 places ('Governor places') were allocated purely by ranking applicants on their Kent Test aggregate score — a genuine superselective element. Following a consultation run over winter 2024-25, the school removed that tier entirely: the current policy governing Sept 2026 entry onward has no score-ranked places at all, just the standard priority order down to straight-line distance. A useful reminder that admissions arrangements are reviewed and can change annually, even at schools with a long-settled reputation.
Key facts
- Gender
- girls
- Age range
- 11-18
- Region
- South East
- Local authority
- Kent
- DfE URN
- 118836
- Website
- https://www.mggs.org
Admissions
- Admissions authority
- The school sets its own test and criteria
- Entrance test board
- The Kent Test, commissioned by Kent County Council. GL Assessment is widely reported as the current provider, though not stated on KCC's own current pages — KCC has an active 2026 procurement to (re-)appoint an 11+ testing provider, so this may change for future cycles.partly verified
GL Assessment is widely reported but not confirmed on any current Kent County Council page. KCC opened a live procurement in June 2026 to appoint an 11+ testing provider, so the current/future provider shouldn't be assumed static.
- Test format
- Paper 1 combines English and Maths (1 hour total). Paper 2 covers Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning (about 1 hour). Both multiple-choice and computer-marked. A separate unmarked 40-minute writing task is also sat, used only by a headteacher panel for borderline or appeal decisions.
- Qualifying / pass mark
- The standard Kent-wide grammar threshold (2025 cycle, governing Sept 2026 entry: aggregate 332, no component below 108 — KCC states the 2026-cycle figure, governing Sept 2027 entry, won't be published until October 2026). The school's Year 7 PAN is 210. Historically, 30 of those 210 places ('Governor places') were ranked purely by Kent Test aggregate score — but this tier was removed following a winter 2024-25 consultation, effective for Sept 2026 entry onward. The current policy sets no score requirement above the county baseline for any place.partly verified
The 332/108 figure is confirmed by KCC but explicitly labelled as the threshold for the cycle governing Sept 2026 entry; the next cycle's threshold (governing Sept 2027 entry) won't be published until October 2026.
- Superselective?
- No
As of the current (Sept 2026 entry onward) determined policy, the school sets no score requirement above the Kent-wide baseline, and allocates all places by priority category down to straight-line distance — not by ranking on test score. This is a recent change: through Sept 2025 entry, 30 of 210 places were ranked purely by Kent Test aggregate score, a genuine superselective mechanism that no longer applies. A comparison site should note that this school was partly superselective as recently as last admissions cycle.
Catchment & priority criteria
No defined catchment area. After Looked-After/previously-Looked-After and Pupil Premium priority, then sibling link, all remaining places go by straight-line distance from home to school, nearest first, with no zone or boundary of any kind.
- Children with an EHCP naming the school
- Looked-after and previously looked-after children
- Pupil Premium-eligible children, via a supplementary form due by 31 October
- Current family association — a sibling attending either this school or Maidstone Grammar School (the boys' school)
- Nearness of home to school, by straight-line distance
- Tie-break for the last place: random allocation
Results
| Year | Attainment 8 | GCSE 5+ Eng & Maths | Progress 8 | A*–A | A*–B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 66.3 (England state-funded average 45.9) | 85.8% (England 45.9%, Kent LA 47.9%) | +0.57 ('Well above average', confidence interval +0.36 to +0.77; Kent LA average -0.14, England -0.03) | verify with school | verify with school |
| 165 A-level students: average grade B- (36.07 points per entry) vs England C+ (34.38 points). DfE's current tables express A-level outcomes only as an average-grade/points measure for this cohort, not an A*-A/A*-B percentage breakdown. | |||||
| 2025 | 66.4 (England state-funded average 46.1) | 87.7% (England 45.4%, Kent LA 47.0%) | Not calculated by DfE — no KS2 baseline data for this cohort nationally | verify with school | verify with school |
| 184 A-level students: average grade B- (36.48 points per entry), matching England's average of B- (35.0 points) this year. | |||||
| 2026 | 63.3 (school-reported; not yet independently published by DfE, which typically lags 6-12 months) | 90% (school-reported) | Not calculated for this cohort either — same nationwide COVID-era baseline gap | 22% (school-reported) | 57-58% (school-reported; the school's own results page shows two slightly different figures for the same cohort — 57% in prose text, 58% in an animated counter on the same page) |
| School-reported and provisional. EBacc entry 92%. | |||||
Ofsted
- Rating
- Outstanding, in every category: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision.
- Date
- 7-8 March 2023
- Report
- Read the full report
Sources
- 1. DfE Get Information About Schools — URN, status, gender, LA — https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/118836
- 2. Current determined admissions policy, entry Sept 2026-Aug 2027 — https://www.kent.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/199428/Maidstone-Grammar-School-for-Girls-admissions-criteria-2026-2027.pdf
- 3. Admissions consultation letter, Nov 2024 — documents removal of the score-ranked 'Governor places' criterion — https://www.kent.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/173654/Maidstone-Grammar-School-for-Girls-admissions-consultation-criteria-2026-2027.pdf
- 4. Prior-cycle admissions policy, entry Sept 2025-Aug 2026 — shows the now-removed score-ranked criterion — https://www.kent.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/163623/Maidstone-Grammar-School-for-Girls-admissions-criteria-2025-2026.pdf
- 5. Kent County Council — Kent Test qualifying threshold — https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/school-places/kent-test/kent-test-results
- 6. Ofsted report, inspected 7-8 March 2023 — https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50216146
- 7. DfE Compare School Performance — results over time — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/118836/maidstone-grammar-school-for-girls/secondary/results-over-time
- 8. School's own GCSE Results 2026 page — https://www.mggs.org/your-journey/years-10-11/gcse-results/
- 9. School's own A Level Results 2026 page — https://www.mggs.org/your-journey/sixth-form/a-level-results/
Last updated 2026-08-30. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.