The Judd School 11 Plus (11+) Exam Guide

About The Judd School

The Judd School is a boys’ state grammar school in Tonbridge, West Kent, educating around 900 boys aged 11 to 18. It is one of the most academically selective and heavily oversubscribed grammar schools in the county.

Judd offers a broad extracurricular programme alongside its academic focus, including strong music, sport and Duke of Edinburgh provision, and has a well-established sixth form. The school’s exam results are consistently among the strongest in Kent, and it regularly appears in national league tables for academic performance.

Because Judd does not set its own entrance exam, entry is decided through the Kent Test, the shared 11+ assessment used by every Kent grammar school. Judd is unusual even among Kent grammars in how far above the countywide pass mark its own offers typically sit, which makes early, focused preparation especially valuable for families targeting a place.

Key information for 2027: The Judd School at 11 Plus (11+)

• School type: State grammar school (boys)
• Consortium: Kent Test (countywide, run by Kent County Council)
• Registration deadline: early July 2026
• Exam date: September 2026
• CAF deadline: end of October 2026
• National school offer day: March 2027
• Contact details: 01732 770880, www.judd.online/admissions, www.kent.gov.uk/kenttest

Admissions information for 2027 entry: The Judd School at 11 Plus (11+)

Registration for the Kent Test opens in the spring and closes in early July 2026, via Kent County Council’s online registration portal. Your son sits the test once, at his own primary school if it is in Kent, or at an allocated test centre if it is outside Kent, on a weekend date in September 2026. Results are emailed to parents in mid-October 2026.

You must also submit your Common Application Form (CAF) to your home local authority by the end of October 2026, listing The Judd School among your preferences in the order you would actually like to be offered a place.

Judd’s published admission number is 180 places (157 inner area, 23 outer area). Because passing the Kent Test only makes a boy eligible for a grammar school place somewhere in Kent, not for Judd specifically, the school ranks all qualified applicants by score within its priority areas. In recent years the lowest scores actually offered at Judd have sat well above the countywide qualifying threshold, so the realistic target for Judd is considerably higher than the pass mark alone. National school offer day, when families learn which school has offered a place, falls in March 2027.

How can I register my child for the 11 Plus (11+) exam at The Judd School?

You register your son directly with Kent County Council, not with The Judd School itself, via the online Kent Test registration portal before the early July 2026 deadline. One registration and one sitting of the test covers every Kent grammar school you may wish to name later.

When registering, check your home address carefully, since Judd’s inner and outer priority areas affect both your son’s ranking and the realistic score he will need for an offer. After results arrive in October, you separately complete the Common Application Form to name Judd (and any other schools) as your preferences for the National Offer Day allocation in March.

What is the 11 Plus (11+) entrance exam format for The Judd School?

The Judd School selects entirely through the Kent Test, the shared 11+ assessment set by GL Assessment and administered by Kent County Council. All candidates sit the same papers on the same day, whichever Kent grammar school they hope to attend.

• Paper 1 (English and maths): multiple-choice questions covering English comprehension and maths at Year 5 level, testing speed and accuracy under time pressure.
• Paper 2 (reasoning): multiple-choice verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning sections, testing skills that are rarely taught directly in primary school.
• Writing exercise: a short, timed piece of writing. It does not contribute to the main score but may be read if a borderline result goes to a headteacher assessment panel.

Your son receives standardised scores for English, maths and reasoning, adjusted slightly for age so that younger children in the year group are not disadvantaged. Because Judd ranks qualified applicants by score rather than simply by pass or fail, strong, consistent performance across all sections matters more here than at many other Kent grammar schools.

How to prepare your child for the 11 Plus (11+) The Judd School exam

Because Judd selects by score within a heavily oversubscribed field, the aim is not just to clear the pass mark but to push performance as high as possible across English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. Regular, timed practice under exam conditions is the most reliable way to build both accuracy and speed before test day.

Verbal and non-verbal reasoning are usually the least familiar areas for children coming from a standard primary curriculum, so these often benefit from the earliest and most consistent attention. As the exam approaches, full timed practice papers help your son get used to transferring answers to a separate answer sheet, a skill that costs real marks if it is not rehearsed.

For The Judd School (Kent Test) 11+ preparation, we recommend the following packs: