Highsted Grammar School 11 Plus (11+) Exam Guide

About Highsted Grammar School

Highsted Grammar School is a girls’ state grammar school in Sittingbourne, Kent (boys are admitted into the sixth form only). The school’s Published Admission Number for Year 7 is 150.

Entry into Year 7 is by the Kent Test, sat in September of Year 6, with an optional additional school test, the Highsted Test, for girls who do not reach the required standard first time.

Key information for 2027 entry to Highsted Grammar School at 11 Plus (11+)

• School type: girls’ state grammar school (co-educational sixth form)
• Test provider: Kent Test (GL Assessment papers, administered by Kent County Council); optional Highsted Test set by the school itself
• Kent Test registration opens – deadline: 1 June – 1 July 2026 (midnight)
• Highsted Test registration opens – deadline: 1 June – 1 July 2026 (4pm)
• Kent Test date: Thursday 10 September 2026 (Kent primary schools) or the weekend of 12-13 September 2026 (out-of-county and home-educated children)
• Highsted Test date: Saturday 12 September 2026 (the Saturday following the Kent Test)
• Results date: Thursday 15 October 2026
• SCAF deadline: 31 October 2026
• National Offer Day: 1 March 2027
• Year 7 places available: 150
• Contact details: highsted.kent.sch.uk

Admissions information for 2027 entry to Highsted Grammar School at 11 Plus (11+)

Girls can become eligible for a place at Highsted through the county-wide Kent Test, set by GL Assessment and run by Kent County Council. For a general explanation of how the Kent Test works, see our full Kent Test guide.

Highsted also runs its own additional assessment, the Highsted Test, which has been available since September 2016 and has equal status to a Kent Test pass. Like Borden’s arrangement, this is a genuine second-chance route: the school’s own admissions policy states it “will also admit girls through success in the Highsted procedure where a girl has been unsuccessful in the Kent testing process.” Your daughter must have registered for the Kent Test to be eligible for the Highsted Test, and it is entirely optional; a Kent Test pass on its own is enough for a place.

Registration for the Kent Test is completed directly with Kent County Council, not with Highsted, between 1 June and 1 July 2026. You must separately name Highsted Grammar School on your Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) by 31 October 2026. Registering for either test and applying for a school place are different steps, and both are required.

When the school is oversubscribed, priority is given first to looked after and previously looked after children, then to a proportion of places reserved for Pupil Premium-eligible girls living in the ME9-ME12 postcode areas, then to siblings already at the school, and finally by straight-line distance from home to school. Make sure you check the school’s current admission arrangements for the full ordered list, as it is reviewed each year.

How can I register my child for the 11 Plus (11+) exams at Highsted Grammar School?

You do not register with Highsted itself for the Kent Test. Registration for the Kent Test is completed on the Kent County Council website, and Kent does not accept late entries.

If you also want your daughter to have the option of the Highsted Test, registration is separate and completed directly with the school via its own online application form. You will need to provide confirmation that you have already registered her for the Kent Test, as applications without this evidence cannot be accepted.

Make sure you check the school’s admissions page and the Kent County Council website for the current registration links, as the exact process and closing times are confirmed there each year.

The application process is:

• Register your daughter for the Kent Test with Kent County Council between 1 June and 1 July 2026
• If you also want to keep the Highsted Test open as a safety net, register separately with the school by 1 July 2026, with evidence of your Kent Test registration
• Sit the Kent Test in September 2026, either at her Kent primary school or, for out-of-county and home-educated children, at a test centre, and, if registered, sit the Highsted Test at the school on Saturday 12 September 2026
• Complete the Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF), naming Highsted Grammar School, by 31 October 2026
• Receive your offer on National Offer Day, 1 March 2027

What is the 11 Plus (11+) entrance exam format for Highsted Grammar School?

Girls applying to Highsted sit the county-wide Kent Test, and may additionally sit the school’s own Highsted Test if they want a second opportunity to reach the required standard.

The Kent Test is made up of two multiple-choice papers plus a separate writing task:

• Paper 1 (English and maths) – about an hour, in two sections. Each section starts with a short practice exercise before a timed 25-minute test.
• Paper 2 (verbal and non-verbal reasoning) – about an hour, split into a verbal reasoning section and a non-verbal reasoning section of roughly equal length.

There is also a writing task of 40 minutes, including about 10 minutes for planning. This is not scored as part of the Kent Test result; it is kept on file and only looked at by a headteacher panel if a child is referred for a closer look. Multiple-choice answers go on a separate answer sheet that is read by a machine, not written in the question booklet itself.

The Highsted Test is different in format. It has a computer-based element assessing verbal ability, numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, plus a separate marked English paper testing reading and writing skills, which is not computer-based or multiple choice. Check the school’s admissions page for the precise structure, as this is set by the school rather than by Kent County Council.

A rough guide to the topics covered across both tests:

• Maths – arithmetic, fractions, decimals and percentages, measurement, geometry, statistics and word problems
• English – comprehension, spelling, punctuation and sentence completion
• Verbal reasoning – word and logic puzzles such as letter sequences, codes and hidden words
• Non-verbal reasoning – patterns, sequences, rotations and odd-one-out questions with shapes

Highsted Grammar School 11 Plus (11+) top tips for your child

• Get comfortable with all four areas: English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. Both the Kent Test and the Highsted Test draw on this same core knowledge, so keep everything ticking over rather than focusing on just one subject.
• Use the short practice exercise at the start of each Kent Test section properly! It is there to show you exactly what to do, so listen carefully and ask yourself if you understand before the timed section begins.
• Practise on a separate answer sheet. Getting used to finding the right box and shading it in properly means one less thing to think about on the day.
• If you are trying the Highsted Test too, get comfortable working on a computer screen as well as on paper, so neither format feels unfamiliar.
• Remember the Highsted Test is there as a safety net, not a hurdle! If you sit both tests, you only need to reach the standard in one of them, so try to relax and do your best rather than worrying about a single result.
• Plan before you write. In the Kent Test writing task, a few minutes spent thinking of a beginning, middle and end will make your writing clearer.

How to prepare your child for the 11 Plus (11+) Highsted Grammar School exam

Because every applicant needs to register for the Kent Test, preparing for Highsted starts there: English, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and the separate writing task. The Highsted Test, if you choose to register for it too, draws on the same core skills across its computer-based and English paper elements, so the same groundwork covers both.

The most useful way to prepare is to use practice tests that match this format, so your daughter gets used to working across all four subjects, transferring answers to a separate answer sheet, and keeping to time in each section. That familiarity is what stops the format itself being a surprise on the day.

For Highsted Grammar School 11+ preparation, we recommend the following packs: