Chatham Grammar School 11+ guide

Atom Learning is partnered with Chatham Grammar School. You can read more about our partnership here.

Are you thinking about applying to Chatham Grammar School? Find out everything you need to know about the entry process and how to prepare for the 11+ exam.

Key information for Chatham Grammar School

• School type: girls' grammar school (co-educational from September 2026)
• Location: Chatham, Kent
• Admissions contact: [email protected]
• Number of places in Year 7: 150
• 11+ exam: Medway Test
• Catchment area: no

Important dates for 2027 entry

• Monday 18th May 2026: Medway Test registration opens
• Friday 12th June 2026: Medway Test registration closes
• Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th September 2026: Medway Test dates for children attending a Medway primary school
• Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th September 2026: Medway Test dates for children not attending a Medway primary school
• Wednesday 14th October 2026: Medway Test results released
• Saturday 31st October 2026: deadline to apply for secondary school places
• Monday 1st March 2027: secondary school national offers day

How to apply to Chatham Grammar School

Chatham Grammar School is selective. This means that your child will need to take the local 11+ exam to be eligible for a place.

The local 11+ exam in Medway is known as the Medway Test. You must register your child for the test via Medway Council's website. Registration opens on 18th May 2026 and closes on 12th June 2026.

If your child attends a Medway primary school, they will sit the test at their current school on either Tuesday 15th or Wednesday 16th September 2026. If your child does not attend a Medway primary school, they will be invited to sit the exam at a test centre in the area on either Saturday 19th or Sunday 20th September 2026. Specific venues will be confirmed by Medway Admissions after registration.

Please note that children can apply to Chatham Grammar School by sitting either the Medway Test or the Kent Test. If your child sits the Kent Test, their results will be accepted in place of the Medway Test.

Your child's results will be released on Wednesday 14th October 2026. If they meet the qualifying standard, you can apply for a place by naming the school on your common application form. This must be submitted to your local authority by Saturday 31st October 2026.

Important note: passing the test doesn't guarantee that your child will be allocated a place at your preferred school. Grammar schools are often oversubscribed with children who meet the qualifying standard. After the 31st October deadline, schools use admissions criteria to allocate places.

We've outlined the process for Chatham Grammar School below.

What will my child be tested on?

The Medway Test papers are supplied by GL Assessment and consist of three papers.

• English: questions based on national curriculum content, often including a reading comprehension task and questions on vocabulary and language
• Maths: questions based on Key Stage 2 maths content, covering areas such as number, measurement, geometry and statistics
• Reasoning: this may include verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, or both. Unlike English and maths, reasoning is not taught as part of the Key Stage 2 curriculum. Verbal reasoning assesses your child's ability to use logic and solve problems with written information, while non-verbal reasoning tests their ability to identify patterns and solve problems using shapes and diagrams

How are places allocated at Chatham Grammar School?

In mid-October, you’ll receive your child’s test results. These will confirm whether your child has met the required standard for admission.

If your child’s results meet the required standard, you must name Chatham Grammar School as a preferred school on your common application form to be considered. This must be submitted to your home local authority by the 31st October.

If the number of children who meet the qualifying standard exceeds the number of places available, the school applies oversubscription criteria. Places are prioritised in this order:

1. Looked after and previously looked after children
2. Children who have a sibling attending a UKAT academy
3. Children of staff working at any UKAT academy
4. Children living closest to the school

Does Chatham Grammar School have a catchment area?

Chatham Grammar School doesn't have a catchment area. However, children who live closer to the school receive priority for places. Distance is measured by the shortest available safe walking route between the child's home and the school.

How can I help my child prepare for the test?

The Medway Test can feel like a big milestone, but preparation doesn't have to be overwhelming. Here's how you can help your child prepare for test day.

Stay on track with a clear plan

One of the hardest parts of 11+ preparation is knowing what to focus on, when, and how to make steady progress without it taking over family life.

A clear, structured plan helps your child feel less overwhelmed and more in control. It ensures they build skills in the right order, cover everything they need, and avoid last-minute cramming.

Atom's exam plan makes this easier. Enter your child's target schools and exam dates, and we'll create a personalised weekly plan tailored to the topics they'll be tested on. It shows them what to work on and when, adapts as they improve, and helps them build progress in a calm, manageable way — little and often.

That means less guesswork for you, less stress for them, and a clearer path all the way to exam day.

Build smart exam technique

As your child's knowledge grows, practice tests can help them feel more comfortable with the real exam format.

Atom's 11+ practice papers are exact replicas of real 11+ exams. They're also unlimited — you can download the same paper again and again, and your child will get new questions each time. This helps them practise without repeating the same content.

We've made marking easy for you, too. Simply photograph your child's answer sheets and upload them to Atom. The papers are marked instantly, showing your child's standardised age score (SAS), where they're doing well, and what they should focus on next. You'll also learn how they compare to other children applying to the same school.

Encourage regular reading

Strong reading skills play a big role in 11+ preparation.

Encourage your child to read every day, even for just 10–15 minutes. The key is variety. Mix fiction and non-fiction, different genres, and a range of authors. This helps them become more confident in understanding tone, purpose, and meaning across different texts.

Over time, regular reading will broaden their vocabulary, improve comprehension and inference, and build confidence in tackling unseen texts.

Looking for inspiration? Atom's recommended reading lists have suggestions spanning fiction and non-fiction for Years 3–6.

Celebrate progress, not just scores

When you're supporting your child through 11+ preparation, what really matters is knowing they're moving in the right direction — not just how they scored on a single test.

Atom's progress tracking gives you a clear, simple picture of how your child is doing in each topic and the direction they're moving in. You can see where they're on track, where they might need more practice, and spot progress as it happens.

That makes it easier to give meaningful encouragement, keep motivation steady, and focus on what matters most: consistent improvement, not just one-off results.