Tonbridge, Kent · Kent
Tonbridge Grammar School
Has run an IB-only sixth form since 2012 — no A-levels to compare at all, until a funding-driven switch starting September 2026.
Tonbridge Grammar School (distinct from the independent, fee-paying Tonbridge School) sets no stated score requirement above Kent's county-wide threshold, but real demand for its 165 score-ranked places pushes the actual cutoff well above it — secondary sources report recent offers around 368-377 for its main priority area and 395-397 for places open to the rest of the county, though these specific figures aren't government-confirmed. Its most distinctive feature has nothing to do with admissions: it has run an International Baccalaureate-only sixth form since 2012, with no A-level results to report for any recent year — a funding-driven switch back to A-levels starts with the Year 12 intake in September 2026, so the first A-level results won't exist until 2028.
Key facts
- Gender
- girls
- Age range
- 11-18
- Region
- South East
- Local authority
- Kent
- Established
- 1905
- DfE URN
- 136417
- Website
- https://www.tgs.kent.sch.uk
Admissions
- Admissions authority
- The school sets its own test and criteria
- Entrance test board
- The Kent Test, commissioned county-wide by Kent County Council. GL Assessment is widely reported as the provider, though not confirmed on a directly-accessible council page.
- Test format
- An English & Maths paper and a Reasoning paper (verbal and non-verbal), both around an hour, plus an unmarked writing task used only for borderline headteacher assessments.
- Qualifying / pass mark
- No separate school-set minimum beyond the Kent-wide grammar threshold (a recent cycle: aggregate of 332). The school ranks qualifying applicants purely by score to fill 135 'Area' places (Tonbridge & Malling, Tunbridge Wells, and Sevenoaks residents), 30 'Trustee' places (everyone else), and 15 Pupil Premium places, out of 180 total. Secondary sources report realised offer scores of roughly 368-377 (Area) and 395-397 (Trustee) in recent cycles — well above the 332 baseline, though these specific numbers aren't confirmed by the school or council directly.sources conflict
The Kent-wide minimum-component score is reported inconsistently as 106, 107, or 108 across independent sources — Kent County Council's own pages, which would resolve this, blocked automated access throughout this research.
- Superselective?
- Yespartly verified
The no-formal-threshold mechanism is confirmed from the school's own policy; the specific realised cutoff scores (368-397) come only from tutoring-industry sources, not the school or council directly.
The school's own policy sets no formal minimum above the Kent-wide baseline — but with only 165 places open to score-ranked competition against far higher demand, secondary sources report realised cutoffs in the high 360s to high 390s, meaningfully above the 332 qualifying threshold. This is the same outcome-driven pattern as The Judd School, though here the specific cutoff figures come from tutoring-industry sources rather than a school-published outcomes page, so treat them as indicative rather than confirmed.
Catchment & priority criteria
An 'Area' priority covering Tonbridge & Malling Borough, Tunbridge Wells Borough, and Sevenoaks District (135 places), with 30 further 'Trustee' places open to applicants from anywhere else, and 15 Pupil Premium places ranked by proximity rather than score.
- Children with an EHCP naming the school who achieved a selective assessment
- Looked-after and previously looked-after children
- Area places (up to 135): girls resident in the three named districts, ranked by score then distance
- Trustee places (30): girls resident elsewhere, ranked by score then distance
- Pupil Premium places (15): eligible girls scoring below the automatic qualifying line, ranked by distance
Results
| Year | Attainment 8 | GCSE 5+ Eng & Maths | Progress 8 | A*–A | A*–B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | — | — | — | — | — |
| The school's own results summary doesn't quote Attainment 8, Progress 8, or a grade-5+-in-English-and-Maths figure directly — only bespoke grade-distribution metrics: average GCSE grade 7.72, 34% of entries at grade 9, 89% of pupils achieved 5+ GCSEs at grade 9-7. Secondary aggregators quote conflicting Attainment 8 figures (77-79) that couldn't be independently confirmed against DfE, whose page blocked automated access throughout this research. This school has run an IB-only sixth form since 2012, so there are no A-level results — see IB figures instead: average IB score 36.9 (UK average 34.7), 2 students scored the maximum 45, 28% scored 40+. | |||||
| 2025 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Average GCSE grade 7.5, 28% of entries at grade 9, 87% of pupils achieved 5+ GCSEs at grade 9-7 (school's own figures; DfE's Attainment 8/grade-5+ figures for this cohort couldn't be independently confirmed). IB Diploma: average score 36.8 (UK average 35), 2 students scored the maximum 45. University destinations: 95% placed, 78% at a Russell Group institution, 12 to Oxbridge. | |||||
Ofsted
- Rating
- Outstanding — from the last fully graded inspection (October 2019, all five areas). A December 2024 visit was an ungraded monitoring inspection under Ofsted's post-2024 framework: it found the school had maintained those standards but issued no new overall grade.
- Date
- 3-4 December 2024
- 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/136417
- 2. Determined Admission Policy 2027-28 (approved 28 January 2026) — https://www.tgs.kent.sch.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=481&type=pdf
- 3. Ofsted report, most recent inspection 3-4 December 2024 — https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50266907
- 4. School's own history page — founded 1905 — https://www.tgs.kent.sch.uk/school-history
- 5. School's own Summer 2024 examination performance summary — https://www.tgs.kent.sch.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=325&type=pdf
- 6. School's own Summer 2025 examination performance summary — https://www.tgs.kent.sch.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=440&type=pdf
- 7. DfE Compare School Performance (blocked to automated access during this research — listed for manual verification) — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/136417/tonbridge-grammar-school/secondary
Last updated 2026-08-30. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.