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
Dover Grammar School for Boys uses its own 11+ paper for entry in September 2028. For this intake, the working assumption for this guide is a GL Assessment-style paper covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. In practice, that means children should prepare in a balanced way across all four areas rather than treating one section as optional.
The school’s admissions information for the current published intake explains that boys may sit either the Kent Test or the school’s own Dover Test. If your son is aiming for September 2028 entry, he will sit the test in autumn 2027, but families should wait for the 2028-entry admissions page to confirm the exact arrangements for that cohort.
The school’s website does not currently publish a full public breakdown of section lengths for 2028 entry, and ElevenReady’s directory (not yet verified with the school) lists delivery as not yet confirmed. So the sensible approach is to prepare for standard timed 11+ work: short sections, careful instruction-following, and steady accuracy under time pressure.
What the day usually looks like, based on the school’s published admissions notes for the current intake, is that registered candidates receive a confirmation letter by the end of July with practical details such as arrival time and a familiarisation link. Parents should expect a fairly structured test morning with registration, brief instructions and supervised testing, but check the school’s own letter for the precise routine once your child is entered.
Registration and key dates
For the currently published admissions cycle on the school website, parents register either for the Kent Test through Kent County Council or for the Dover Boys Test through the school, depending on which route they are using. The admissions page for September 2027 entry gives these dates: 1 July 2026 to register for the Kent Test and 3 July 2026 to register for the Dover Boys Test.
Because you are planning for September 2028 entry, those exact dates are not yet published for your cohort. The safest wording is that registration usually closes in early July in the year before entry, based on the dates currently shown for the 2027 intake. Parents should check the school admissions page and Kent County Council’s secondary transfer pages from late spring onwards for the 2028-entry forms and instructions.
The school also states that applicants receive a confirmation letter by the end of July, including arrival times and a familiarisation programme link. That gives families a useful clue about the usual sequence: register by early July, then look out for test arrangements before the summer holidays end.
For current-year open events, the school advertised an 11+ Open Evening on 1 October 2026 and Open Mornings on 6 and 7 October 2026. These dates are specific to the currently advertised cycle rather than your child’s intake, but they suggest that autumn open events are part of the normal admissions timetable.
In practical terms, parents should expect to:
- Check whether the school requires a direct school registration, a local-authority registration, or both for your year group.
- Read the school’s admissions page carefully once 2028-entry information is published.
- Keep copies of confirmation emails or forms submitted.
- Watch for the school’s confirmation letter with test-day instructions.
- Complete the local authority secondary school application separately when that window opens; sitting the test does not replace naming the school on the CAF.
If this year’s detailed dates are still unpublished when you are reading this, use the school’s latest page as your guide and sign up for Free email alerts for this school's key dates.
For a quick overview page, see The Dover Grammar School for Boys 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).
Who can apply: catchment and admissions
Dover Grammar School for Boys is a boys’ grammar school in Dover with a sixth form. The school’s admissions material confirms that boys may apply through the selective admissions process, but the exact oversubscription order, catchment wording and any distance or priority measurements for September 2028 entry should be checked in the current determined admission arrangements.
From the school’s published material for the current cycle, what is clear is that selection can be through either the Kent Test or the school’s own Dover Test. That matters for out-of-area families and for children who are not taking the Kent Test on the main county date, because it gives an alternative route to be considered for the school.
The school website page provided for admissions does not, on the publicly accessible page reviewed, clearly publish all the headline figures parents often look for such as published admission number, recent cut-off distance or score threshold. The school does not appear to publish a simple pass mark on that page, so parents should not rely on forum figures or old anecdotes. Instead, read the latest admissions arrangements and Kent County Council’s coordinated admissions information when the 2028 documents are released.
If you are trying to judge competitiveness, focus on the parts you can control:
- make sure your son is entered correctly and on time;
- prepare evenly across all four tested areas;
- attend open events if possible to check that the school is the right fit;
- and submit the secondary school application form by the local authority deadline.
If catchment is important for your family, wait for the determined admission arrangements for your child’s entry year rather than using older summaries online. Rules can change and wording matters.
A month-by-month preparation plan
For a child sitting in autumn of Year 6, the most useful preparation is steady and calm rather than intense. Below is a realistic plan working back through Year 5 and into the start of Year 6.
January to March in Year 5
Keep it light: around 1 to 2 hours a week split into short sessions. Start with untimed skills in arithmetic, vocabulary, comprehension, and introductory reasoning. The goal is not speed yet; it is confidence, accuracy and familiarity.
April in Year 5
Move to 2 hours a week. Identify weaker areas early. For Maths, that might be fractions or multi-step word problems. For English, it may be inference or precise vocabulary. For reasoning, teach the method for each question family before expecting speed.
May in Year 5
Build a regular rhythm: two or three short sessions a week. Introduce mini timed bursts, such as ten-minute sets, but do not overdo full papers yet. This is also a good month to decide whether your child may need a more structured plan over the summer.
June in Year 5
Work at about 2 to 3 hours a week. Start mixing subjects within the same week so your child gets used to switching mental gears. Continue vocabulary building, daily reading and mental maths. If the registration window opens around this time, complete forms promptly.
July in Year 5
Begin short timed sections in earnest. One timed task each for Maths, English, VR and NVR across the week is enough. Review mistakes carefully: slow reading of instructions, guessed answers and avoidable arithmetic slips are often where marks are lost.
August before Year 6
This is the key consolidation month. Aim for 3 to 4 hours a week across four or five sessions. Introduce the first full mixed practice papers under sensible conditions, but keep the atmosphere matter-of-fact. One or two full papers a week is plenty if they are reviewed well.
September in Year 6
By now, your child should be doing regular timed work. Keep practice focused and avoid panic cramming. Use a cycle of: one paper or section, one detailed review, one targeted correction session. Sleep, routine and confidence matter as much as one last worksheet.
The final 1 to 2 weeks
Reduce volume slightly. Prioritise familiar formats, accuracy and calm. No late-night revision, no endless new material and no dramatic talk about the importance of the exam.
A good rule of thumb is this:
- Start broad and untimed.
- Add method and consistency.
- Bring in timed sections over the summer.
- Use full papers sparingly but review them properly.
Subject by subject: what to practise
Maths
For a GL-style Maths section, children typically need secure number skills and the ability to work accurately at pace. Practise the four operations, place value, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics, measures, time, simple geometry, and interpreting word problems. The most useful routine is short daily arithmetic plus one or two longer problem-solving sets each week. Teach your child to underline key information, estimate before calculating, and check whether an answer is sensible.
English
English preparation should cover both comprehension and technical accuracy. In comprehension, work on retrieving information, inference, understanding tone, choosing evidence and explaining word meanings in context. For technical English, revise spelling patterns, punctuation, grammar, sentence structure and vocabulary. Strong reading habits help more than endless worksheets, so encourage daily reading of fiction and non-fiction and discuss unfamiliar words properly.
Verbal Reasoning
GL-style Verbal Reasoning usually rewards familiarity with recurring question types. Children should learn the method for each type, then practise applying it quickly. Typical areas include letter sequences, codes, word relationships, vocabulary-based items, number-letter combinations and logical patterns. The key is not just doing lots of questions, but sorting mistakes by type so weak formats can be revisited until the method feels automatic.
Non-Verbal Reasoning
Non-Verbal Reasoning focuses on visual patterns and spatial logic. Children should practise identifying shape changes such as rotation, reflection, shading, size, position and movement, as well as spotting the odd one out and completing sequences or analogies. Accuracy improves when children learn to scan systematically: first look for one changing feature, then check whether a second feature is also changing.
Across all four subjects, the right balance for this school is simple: steady accuracy first, then speed. Because the paper covers all four areas, do not let one strong subject crowd out the others.
Practice papers and mock exams
Practice papers are most useful when they are part of a clear routine rather than a last-minute rush. For Dover Grammar School for Boys, use them to build familiarity across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
A good sequence is:
- learn the method for a question type;
- practise a small untimed set;
- repeat the same type under light timing;
- then use mixed papers to build stamina and switching skills.
When you mark a paper, do more than count the score. Separate errors into three groups:
- knowledge gaps — for example, a child did not know the rule;
- method errors — they knew the topic but used the wrong approach;
- time-pressure slips — rushed reading, lost place, careless arithmetic.
This tells you what to do next. Knowledge gaps need teaching. Method errors need worked examples. Time-pressure slips need calmer timed practice, not harder content.
Mocks can help some children, especially in late summer, because they make the experience feel familiar. But they are only helpful if your child is already comfortable with the basics. Too early, and they can feel discouraging. One or two well-timed mock-style experiences are usually enough.
Use these resources:
- Free Dover Grammar School for Boys practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers): /schools/dover-grammar-school-for-boys-mock-tests
- The Dover Grammar School for Boys 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates): /schools/dover-grammar-school-for-boys
- Free email alerts for this school's key dates: /school-alerts?school=dover-grammar-school-for-boys
One final tip: save a few papers for the final month. Parents often use everything too early, then have nothing left for realistic timed practice near the exam.
On the day
Keep the morning simple. Aim for an unhurried start, comfortable uniform or clothing if the instructions allow, a familiar breakfast and plenty of time to travel. Children usually perform best when the day feels ordinary rather than loaded with pressure.
Bring only what the school has asked for in the confirmation letter. Check the letter the night before so there is no last-minute scramble over pencils, pens or arrival time.
Useful reminders for your child:
- listen carefully to instructions at the start of each section;
- if a question feels hard, stay calm and move on rather than freezing;
- keep an eye on time without panicking;
- check answers if there is time left, especially in Maths;
- treat each section as a fresh start.
Useful reminders for parents:
- avoid giving lots of tips in the car or at the gate;
- keep your tone steady and cheerful;
- do not discuss score targets on the morning;
- plan a normal, pleasant rest of day afterwards.
Most children come out of selective tests feeling uncertain about at least one section. That is normal. It does not tell you how they have done overall.
After the exam: results, allocation and appeals
After the test, families usually receive the outcome of the selection process before completing or alongside the wider secondary transfer timetable, depending on the route taken and the local authority process in force that year. For Dover Grammar School for Boys, the school’s published admissions notes confirm the registration and confirmation stages, but parents should check the 2028-entry page for the exact results timeline once it appears.
The next stage is the local authority school application. Even if your child sits and passes a selective test, you must still name the school on your Common Application Form if you want to be considered for a place.
On national offer day, the local authority allocates places according to the school’s admission arrangements and the order of preferences on the application form. If a place is not offered, families may have two possible next steps:
- join the waiting list, if available under that year’s arrangements; and
- submit an appeal by the published deadline.
Appeals are not a re-sit. They usually focus on why the admission decision should be reconsidered, either because the admission criteria were not applied correctly or because there are strong reasons why the school is particularly suitable for the child. Always use the official appeal guidance for the relevant year rather than generic online advice.
If your child is not offered a place, it helps to move in a calm, ordered way: read the offer information carefully, note all deadlines, and gather any supporting evidence early if you are considering an appeal.
What has changed recently
For the currently published September 2027 intake, the school’s admissions page states that candidates can register for either the Kent Test or the school’s own Dover Boys Test, with separate July 2026 deadlines. The same page also states that applicants will receive a confirmation letter by the end of July with arrival times and a familiarisation programme link.
The school also advertised 11+ open events in October 2026, including an open evening and two open mornings.
Beyond those published dates and arrangements for the current intake, we did not find any clearly announced official change in the last two years to the school’s test subjects or format that should be stated as a confirmed change for September 2028 entry.
Frequently asked questions
Does Dover Grammar School for Boys use the Kent Test?
The school’s admissions page for the current published cycle says boys may register either for the Kent Test or for the school’s own Dover Boys Test. Check the 2028-entry page when it is published to confirm the route for your child’s cohort.
What subjects should my child prepare for?
For September 2028 entry, the working assumption for this guide is a school paper in GL style covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Preparation should be balanced across all four.
When do I need to register?
The exact 2028-entry dates are not yet published. The current school page shows early July deadlines for the 2027 intake, so families should start checking from late spring and read the school page carefully.
Does the school publish a pass mark?
We did not find a published pass mark or score threshold on the admissions page reviewed. Do not rely on unofficial figures; check the school’s current admissions information.
How early should preparation start?
For most children, a gentle start in January or spring of Year 5 is sensible. Begin untimed, build consistency by summer, and introduce regular timed practice in the months before the autumn test.
Are catchment rules important for this school?
They may be, but you should use the determined admission arrangements for your child’s entry year rather than older summaries. Catchment wording and oversubscription priorities can change.
Sources
- Dover Grammar School for Boys - Admissions: Current published admissions route includes Kent Test or Dover Boys Test; 2027 intake registration deadlines of 1 July 2026 for Kent Test and 3 July 2026 for Dover Boys Test; applicants receive a confirmation letter by the end of July including arrival times and familiarisation programme link; schoo
- Dover Grammar School for Boys - Home page: School is Dover Grammar School for Boys; boys' grammar school in Dover; site includes sixth form and names headteacher Philip Horstrup.
Preparing for other schools in Kent
- Ashford School · practice papers
- Barton Court Grammar School · practice papers
- Beech Grove School · practice papers
- How to prepare for the Beechwood School 11+ · practice papers
- How to prepare for the Benenden School 11+ · practice papers
- Bethany School · practice papers
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.