How to prepare for the Dartford Grammar School 11+

Exam format not yet verified. We have not confirmed this school's exam board or paper format from an official source. Where this guide describes the test, treat it as a working assumption and check the school's admissions page before relying on it.

The exam at a glance

Dartford Grammar School’s test for 2028 entry uses the school’s own paper. For families preparing now, the safest approach is balanced practice across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, because those are the four tested areas confirmed for this intake.

The school says there is a single entrance test for boys applying for Year 7. The wider Kent grammar process also matters, because parents must usually complete both the school’s test registration and the local authority secondary application in the normal autumn admissions cycle.

The exact delivery method for 2028 entry is not confirmed in the information currently verified here, so parents should check the school’s admissions page when the new cycle opens. The format description available for preparation is a GL-style paper covering all four subjects, with standard timed sections. In practical terms, that means children need to get used to moving calmly between different question types and keeping accuracy under time pressure.

On the day itself, families should expect a formal test session run by the school, with registration, seating, instructions from invigilators and then timed work in sections. Schools do not usually reward rushing; they reward steady, careful working across the whole paper.

Board/format: school’s own paper
Subjects: Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning
Style: GL-style timed sections across all four areas
Delivery: not yet confirmed for 2028 entry
Best preparation focus: even coverage across all four subjects rather than over-specialising early

Registration and key dates

For the current published cycle on the school website, registration for the Dartford Grammar School entrance test opens on 1 June 2026 and closes on 1 July 2026. The school’s Year 7 admissions page also gives 10 September 2026 as the entrance test date for that cycle. For families aiming at 2028 entry, the school has not yet published the new dates, so treat these as a guide to the usual pattern rather than fixed dates for your child.

Based on the published pattern, parents should expect registration to usually open in June, close in early July, and the test to be held in September of Year 6. Check the school’s admissions page regularly from late spring of Year 5 onwards so you do not miss the live form when it appears.

The school runs its own Year 7 admissions test process through its admissions arrangements and Year 7 admissions information. Parents should read the school’s admissions page first, then complete any required test registration by the school deadline, and separately follow Kent County Council’s normal secondary application process for school preferences.

The school has also published an Open Evening on 24 September 2026 for Year 6 parents and boys, with booking opening at 7pm on 15 September 2026. That is useful for understanding the school, but it comes after the test date in that cycle, so it should not be relied on as your main source of admissions information.

Results timing for the 2028 cycle is not yet published in the sources below. Kent’s normal process is that national offer day falls on 1 March or the next working day, but parents should still check both the school and Kent County Council pages for the exact sequence used in the relevant year.

Who runs test registration? The school
Where to check first: the school’s Year 7 admissions page
Published pattern seen for the current cycle: opens 1 June, closes 1 July, test in September
Separate step: submit the local authority secondary application through Kent County Council as well

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Dartford Grammar School is a selective grammar school for boys in Years 7 to 11, with a mixed sixth form. The school’s published admissions arrangements state that there are 180 places in Year 7.

The full oversubscription and priority rules for the relevant intake must always be read in the school’s admissions arrangements for that year. Those arrangements are the document parents should rely on for the exact order in which places are allocated after eligible boys have met the school’s entry requirements.

The school presents itself as open to pupils from all backgrounds and highlights a free familiarisation programme through Atom Learning for children eligible for Pupil Premium. That does not replace reading the formal admissions rules, but it is helpful for families who want structured familiarisation support without extra cost.

We have not included a cut-off score, pass mark, qualifying score or distance because the school does not publish those figures in the sources reviewed here. If you are looking for the latest admissions rules, the safest route is to read the school’s admissions arrangements on its own website and then the Kent County Council secondary admissions guidance.

Competition for grammar places in Kent can be strong, but parents should avoid trying to guess an unpublished threshold. A better use of time is to make sure registration is completed correctly, preferences are submitted on time, and preparation is broad and steady across all four tested subjects.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For a child aiming to sit the test in September of Year 6, the most sensible preparation window is usually from the start of Year 5 or a little earlier if confidence is low. The aim is not cramming. It is building secure skills, then gradually adding timing and stamina.

Month	What to do
September to October (start of Year 5)	Keep it light: around 2 to 3 hours a week in short sessions. Find current strengths and weaker areas across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Focus on accuracy, not speed.
November to December	Build routine. Increase to 3 hours a week if your child is coping well. Work on arithmetic fluency, vocabulary, comprehension habits and recognising common reasoning patterns.
January to February	Move to 3 to 4 hours a week. Start short timed sections once or twice a week, but keep most work untimed. Review mistakes carefully and keep an error notebook.
March to April	Use mixed practice across all four areas. Begin occasional mini-mocks made up of several short sections. If registration details are not yet live, start checking the school website regularly.
May	Raise to 4 to 5 hours a week if needed, split over several days. Work under time limits more often. Practise switching between subjects without losing concentration.
June	This is the point to complete registration if the school opens it on the same pattern as the current cycle. Use one full timed paper or mock every week or two, followed by detailed review.
July	Keep momentum, but do not overdo it. Focus on recurring weaknesses, tidy exam technique and maintain reading. One properly reviewed mock is worth more than several rushed ones.
August	Short, regular sessions work best. Aim for confidence and consistency. Sleep routines, calm practice and a few final timed papers are usually enough.
September (exam month)	Reduce workload in the final days. Do brief warm-ups only. Prioritise calm, routine and confidence over last-minute cramming.

A realistic plan for most children is steady work over time, not daily pressure. If your child is already working hard at school and in clubs, protect rest. Tired children do not learn efficiently.

As a guide, begin timed papers only once the underlying skills are reasonably secure. For many children that means short timed sections from spring of Year 5, then fuller papers from late spring or early summer.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For Dartford Grammar School, think in terms of quick, accurate Key Stage 2 maths under time pressure. Children should be confident with the four operations, place value, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics, averages, perimeter, area, simple algebra, data handling and multi-step word problems. Practise mental fluency first, then short timed sets, then mixed papers. Encourage neat working so marks are not lost through slips.

English

English preparation should cover both comprehension and technical accuracy. Build vocabulary steadily through regular reading and discussion. Practise retrieving information, making straightforward inferences, spotting tone, understanding the effect of word choices and answering in a precise way. Alongside this, keep spelling, punctuation and grammar secure. Short editing tasks can be very helpful because they train children to notice detail under pressure.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning rewards familiarity with recurring question types. Children should get used to codes, letter and number sequences, word relationships, hidden words, similarities and differences, and tasks that depend on strong vocabulary. The best way to improve is through regular exposure to question families, followed by review of mistakes so your child learns the method rather than guessing.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-Verbal Reasoning often tests patterns, rotations, reflections, shape changes, codes and spatial logic. Many children improve quickly once they learn to look for one change at a time: shape, position, shading, size or number. Use short, focused sets and ask your child to explain why an answer works. That helps accuracy far more than rushing through lots of questions.

Across all four subjects, the key habit is this: review every mistake. Was it a knowledge gap, a timing issue, a misread instruction or a careless slip? The answer tells you what to practise next.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are used sparingly and reviewed properly. Start with untimed work to learn methods, move to short timed sections, and only then use full papers. After each paper, spend as long reviewing as you spent completing it.

For school-specific practice, use Free Dartford Grammar School practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers). These are a good way to build familiarity across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning without overloading your child.

You can also keep the main overview page handy here: The Dartford Grammar School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).

If you want reminders when the school publishes or updates dates, sign up here: Free email alerts for this school's key dates.

Mock exams can be helpful in the summer before the test because they build stamina and teach children how it feels to work in silence under a clock. They are not essential for every child, though. If your child tends to become anxious, one or two well-chosen mocks may be enough.

Do not leave practice papers until the final month.
Do not use full papers every weekend from the start; that often creates fatigue.
Keep a simple record of scores by topic, not just overall marks.
Repeat question types your child gets wrong, especially in reasoning.
In the last few weeks, prioritise confidence and consistency over volume.

On the day

Keep the morning simple. Aim for a normal breakfast, comfortable uniform or clothes if the instructions allow, and plenty of time to arrive without rushing. Children usually perform best when the day feels calm and predictable.

Bring exactly what the school asks for and nothing extra. Read the instructions the night before so there is no last-minute uncertainty about pencils, pens, erasers, water or arrival time.

What helps most during the test is straightforward technique:

listen carefully to the instructions at the start of each section
check where answers should be written
if a question feels sticky, move on and come back if there is time
keep one eye on the clock, but do not panic about it
in Maths, show clear working where appropriate
in English and reasoning, read every option carefully before choosing

Parents can help by keeping their own language calm. Avoid saying that the exam is life-changing or that your child must get in. A better message is: do your best, use what you know, and keep going steadily.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

After the test, families usually move into two parallel processes: the school’s selective admissions decisions and Kent’s normal secondary allocation timetable. The exact results date for the 2028 cycle is not yet published in the sources reviewed here, so parents should check the school’s Year 7 admissions page once that cycle opens.

Allocation of school places follows the normal local authority process. Parents list their preferred schools through Kent County Council, and offers are then made on national offer day in March according to each school’s admissions rules.

If your child does not receive an offer, the next steps may include joining the waiting list and, where appropriate, appealing. Appeals are not a re-sit. They are a formal process in which an independent panel considers whether the admission rules were applied correctly and, in some cases, whether there are sufficiently strong reasons for admitting an extra child.

If you ever need to consider an appeal, start by reading the school’s appeal information and the local authority guidance carefully. Keep expectations realistic and focus on evidence rather than emotion.

What has changed recently

For the coming preparation cycle, the key confirmed position is that Dartford Grammar School’s 2028 entry test is described here as the school’s own paper using a GL-style format across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. The school also continues to highlight its free Atom Learning familiarisation support for children eligible for Pupil Premium.

In the sources reviewed for this guide, we did not find a newly announced change within the last two years to the number of Year 7 places, nor a published new catchment rule that could be stated safely here without risking inaccuracy. Parents should therefore rely on the latest admissions arrangements on the school website when the 2028 cycle is published.

The currently published key dates on the school site show a June registration window and a September test date for the active admissions cycle, plus a Year 6 Open Evening in late September. For 2028 entry, those dates should be treated as the current pattern only until the school publishes fresh dates.

Frequently asked questions

When should my child start preparing for Dartford Grammar School?

For most children, the start of Year 5 is a sensible point. That gives enough time to build skills gradually before adding timed work in the spring and summer.

What subjects are tested for Dartford Grammar School 11+?

For 2028 entry, the confirmed tested subjects are Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Preparation should be balanced across all four.

Is Dartford Grammar School part of the Kent Test?

Dartford Grammar School runs its own entrance test process. Parents should still follow Kent County Council's normal secondary application process as well.

How many Year 7 places are there at Dartford Grammar School?

The school's admissions information states that there are 180 Year 7 places. Always check the latest admissions arrangements in case anything changes for your intake.

Does Dartford Grammar School publish a pass mark or cut-off score?

We have not found a published pass mark or cut-off score in the sources reviewed here. Parents should check the school's admissions page for the latest official information.

When do registration and the exam usually happen?

The currently published school dates show registration opening on 1 June 2026, closing on 1 July 2026, with the test on 10 September 2026. For 2028 entry, use that only as a guide to the usual pattern until the school publishes new dates.

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Sources

Dartford Grammar School - Y7 Admissions: The school has Year 7 admissions information; registration opens on 1 June 2026; deadline is 1 July 2026; the entrance test date is 10 September 2026; the school offers a free Atom Learning familiarisation programme for Pupil Premium eligible children.
Dartford Grammar School: Dartford Grammar School is a grammar school in Dartford; it is boys only in Years 7 to 11 and has a mixed sixth form.
GOV.UK - School admissions appeals: Appeals are a formal process heard by an independent panel rather than a re-sit of the exam.
Dartford Grammar School - Open Evening booking information: Open Evening for Year 6 parents and boys is on 24 September 2026 and booking opens at 7pm on 15 September 2026.

Preparing for other schools in Kent

Written by ElevenReady from the school's published information and reviewed by a person before publishing. Last reviewed 4 October 2026. Exam arrangements change. Check the school's admissions page for the current year.