The pattern of grammar school allocations reveals chickens coming home to roost – but never mind the children. I have regularly written since last June about the unfairness of the Kent selection procedure that would be created by the coronavirus effects on schools unless changes were made, and so it has proved. My previous article on the Kent Test demonstrated a built-in bias towards children in West Kent and girls as a result, with further discrimination against children attracting Pupil Premium, suggesting that children from ‘ordinary families’ would also suffer.
Now, every West and North West Kent grammar is full, and all but one are oversubscribed with first choices, even though between them they have added on an extra 184 Year Seven places from last year. At the other end of the scale, there are 257 empty spaces in 13 East and Mid Kent schools, up from 123 in six schools in 2020.
The starkest example of the shift is at Maidstone Grammar which turned away 60 grammar qualified first choices last year, but has 14 vacancies for 2021 admission. At the far end of the county, Sir Roger Manwood’s which had 34 first choices rejected in 2020, now has 20 vacancies.
For children attracting pupil premium, 10% of the girls were found selective by the 2020 Kent selection procedure, and 7% of the boys, in total 8.2%, a fall of 17% from the 2019 figure.
There is an increase of 51 children from outside Kent to 466 in total, were offered places in Kent grammar schools, the main rises being at Gravesend, Maidstone, Maidstone Girls, Mayfield and Tunbridge Wells Boys, partly compensated by a sharp fall at Weald.
I look below at the outcomes by area in more detail, including levels of oversubscription and vacancies. You will find full details of the Kent test process for 2021 entry here.
Please note that some numbers below are approximate for two reasons. Pupils on Education Health Care Plans are not separated out in the data I have been provided with and I have estimated these. Secondly, KCC does not provide exact figures where numbers are less than five, which for example explains the approximation in OOC figures. For simplicity, I have again used my best estimate in such circumstances.
You will find: the equivalent article via the links for: 2020 Kent grammar schools here, 2020 Kent non-selective schools here; an initial article on 2021 allocation here, that also provides cut off scores for the super-selective schools; and for Medway grammar schools 2020 here. You will find my analysis of the 2020 school appeals outcomes here, with a look at the expected pattern of appeals this year together with a look at late applications, here.
You will find application numbers, appeal statistics and academic performance for the past few years, together with the Ofsted record for each school at the Individual Schools section of this website. There are links to the individual schools in the text below. Please let me know of any not up to date that you would wish to see, and I will revise them.
Please note that all statistics in this website refer to grammar qualified children, both via the Kent Test and also through local Tests available through six grammar schools as explained below.
To find allocation details and commentary for Individual Schools in:
The two Wilmington grammar schools both increased their intake by 30 places to 180, with Wilmington Girls joining the list for the first time, so that all eleven West Kent and Dartford grammars now feature amongst those turning away more than 20 first choices (actually all have rejected 39 or more), with only Simon Langton Boys, 46, breaking the monopoly.
MOST OVERSUBSCRIBED KENT GRAMMAR
SCHOOLS ON ALLOCATION 2021
|
|||||
GRAMMAR
SCHOOL
|
PLACES
OFFERED
|
QUALIFIED
1ST CHOICES
TURNED DOWN
|
OOC**
OFFERS
|
APPEALS
2020
|
APPEALS
UPHELD
2020
|
Dartford | 180 | 355 | 82 | 134 | 5 |
Dartford Girls | 180 | 198 | 67 | 76 | 7 |
Judd | 180 | 183 | 16 | 58 | 8 |
Tonbridge | 180 | 143 | 29 | 30 | 2 |
Skinners | 160 | 118 | 14 | 63 | 5 |
Weald of Kent | 300* | 78 | 12 | 102 | 22 |
Wilmington Boys | 180* | 52 | 20 | 136 | 6 |
Simon Langton Boys | 150 | 46 | 5 | 38 | 9 |
Cranbrook | 60 | 44 | 5 | 31 | 2 |
Wilmington Girls | 180 | 43* | 50 | 64 | 0 |
Tunbridge Wells Girls | 145 | 39 | 5 | 37 | 4 |
Queen Elizabeth's | 150* | 18 | 5 | 40 | 15 |
KENT GRAMMAR SCHOOLS WITH VACANCIES
ON ALLOCATION, MARCH 2021
|
||||
GRAMMAR SCHOOL |
PLACES
AVAILABLE
|
VACANCIES |
APPEALS
2020
|
APPEALS
UPHELD 2020
|
Borden | 150* | 38 | 45 | 8 |
Oakwood Park | 160 | 32 | 84 | 20 |
Norton Knatchbull | 210 | 31 | 84 | 30 |
Barton Court | 150 | 29 | 63 | 7 |
Maidstone Girls | 180 | 27 | 89 | 61 |
Folkestone Girls | 204* | 20 | 40 | 8 |
Sir Roger Manwood's | 150 | 20 | 45 | 12 |
Highsted | 150 | 17 | 32 | 11 |
Chatham & Clarendon | 180 | 16 | 78 | 6 |
Maidstone | 205 | 14 | 64 | 18 |
Simon Langton Girls | 165 | 9 | 49 | 35 |
Dover Boys | 150 | 6 | 21 | 14 |
Dane Court | 165 | 2 | 51 | 6 |
However, I now have the data and it shows a 17% fall in the percentage of PP children being found selective, a total of 10.2% of PP girls and 7.0% boys being successful. The lowest rates were at Gravesham 5.4% and Swale 5.9%, highest was Thanet at 10.0% nearly twice as large, and Dover 9.8%.