How to prepare for the Highsted 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

Highsted Grammar School offers an additional route to grammar-school eligibility through its own optional test, alongside the Kent Test. For 2028 entry, our working assumption, not yet verified with the school, is that the test format is a school paper using GL-style assessment across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Parents should therefore prepare across all four subjects rather than narrowing revision too early.

The delivery is mixed, so it is sensible to make your child comfortable with different ways of working on test material and with switching between subjects under timed conditions. The school’s admissions information for recent entry rounds says the optional test is taken at the school in September, so families should expect an in-school test day rather than a remote process.

In practical terms, the day is likely to feel different from an ordinary primary-school lesson. Your child will usually need to listen carefully to instructions, settle quickly, and manage standard timed sections without getting stuck on one difficult question. Because the format covers Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, the most useful preparation is steady, balanced practice: accuracy first, then timing.

Board and style: Highsted’s own paper using GL-style question types
Subjects: Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning
Delivery: Mixed
Where: The school’s admissions page for the recent cycle says the optional test is taken at the school in September

If Highsted publishes updated familiarisation details for 2028 entry, use those as your main reference. Until then, build broad confidence across the four tested areas and practise working calmly through short timed sections.

Registration and key dates

For Highsted, parents should be aware that there are two separate processes in the recent admissions information: registration for the Kent Test, and a separate application window for the Highsted optional test. The school’s admissions page for September 2027 entry states that pupils must also have registered for the Kent Test if they wish to sit the Highsted optional test.

The school says the additional Highsted Test application period for September 2027 entry closed at 4.00 pm on Wednesday 1 July 2026. It also says the optional test is taken at the school in September. For families aiming at September 2028 entry, the safest assumption is that the process may be similar, but you should treat this as typical timing from the previous cycle until the school publishes the new dates.

Who runs the Highsted optional test application? The school
Who runs Kent Test registration? Kent County Council
Recent verified Highsted deadline: 4.00 pm on Wednesday 1 July 2026 for September 2027 entry
Recent verified test timing: taken at the school in September

What should parents do in practice?

Read Highsted’s admissions page first and check whether the optional-test application window for 2028 entry has opened.
Check Kent County Council’s secondary admissions and Kent Test pages, because the school says children must also be registered for the Kent Test.
Keep copies of any confirmation emails and screenshots of submitted forms.
Do not rely on social-media summaries for deadlines; use the school and Kent County Council pages only.

If 2028 dates are not yet live when you read this, a sensible working pattern is: watch for information in the summer term, expect the school’s optional-test application window to fall before the summer holidays if it follows the recent cycle, and expect the test itself in September if that remains unchanged. To keep track, parents can use Free email alerts for this school's key dates.

You can also see ElevenReady’s school summary here: The Highsted Grammar School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Highsted Grammar School is a girls’ grammar school in Sittingbourne. the information in our directory (not yet verified with the school) for 2028 entry is that the school has 150 Year 7 places and operates with no catchment area for the oversubscription framework supplied here.

The verified oversubscription order is:

Looked after and previously looked after children
Children in receipt of Pupil Premium
Current family association
Nearness of home to school, measured in a straight line

That matters for preparation because eligibility is only one part of the process. A child may qualify for grammar-school consideration through the Kent selection route or through Highsted’s optional test, but if the school is oversubscribed, places are then allocated using the published admissions rules rather than by test performance alone.

Highsted’s admissions information also says there will be no differentiation between the Kent Test route and the Highsted Test route to eligibility. In other words, families should not assume one route gives any later admissions advantage over the other; the key issue is whether the child is deemed eligible and then where they fall under the oversubscription criteria.

The school’s admissions page says pupils admitted at the start of Year 7 must be judged suitable for grammar-school education under the Kent selection procedure or the Highsted optional test. If your daughter is not in one of the earlier priority groups, distance may become important, so make sure your address details are correct on all application forms and supporting records.

Highsted does not appear on the sources reviewed here to publish a fixed pass mark, cut-off score or a guaranteed distance for admission. Parents should therefore avoid unofficial score claims and rely on the school’s own admissions information each year.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For most children aiming at a September test in Year 6, the most effective preparation is gradual and consistent. You do not need marathon sessions. A calm routine over many months usually works far better.

January to March in Year 5

Keep preparation light: around 1 to 2 hours a week split across short sessions. Focus on reading comprehension, secure arithmetic, times tables, vocabulary building and puzzle-style reasoning. At this stage, accuracy matters much more than speed.

April to June in Year 5

Increase to about 2 hours a week. Introduce each subject separately so your child learns the question styles without pressure. For English, work on careful reading and concise written responses where relevant. For Maths, make sure methods are secure before introducing time limits. For verbal and non-verbal reasoning, teach one question family at a time.

Summer holidays before Year 6

This is the key building phase. Aim for 2 to 3 hours a week, with regular breaks and a few days off each week. Start mixing subjects in one sitting, because Highsted’s test spans four areas. Towards the second half of the summer, begin short timed sections so your child learns how it feels to move on from a difficult question.

September in Year 6

Move to 3 to 4 hours a week, but keep sessions short and purposeful. This is the point to use more realistic timed practice. One full paper every so often is enough if it is reviewed properly afterwards. The biggest gains now usually come from analysing mistakes: misread instructions, lost marks from rushing, weak vocabulary, or particular reasoning types.

The final two to three weeks

Do not overload. Keep practice steady, familiar and confidence-building. Use mixed work across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Tidy up routines: bubbling or marking answers clearly, checking work, and pacing. In the final few days, reduce the volume slightly so your child goes in fresh rather than tired.

A useful rule of thumb is:

Early stage: learn methods and question types
Middle stage: build consistency across all four subjects
Later stage: improve timing, stamina and decision-making

If your child is already working hard at school, keep preparation realistic. A child who can do a small amount regularly and stay positive is usually in a better position than one who does too much for a few weeks and burns out.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For Highsted, prepare for a broad range of upper-primary Maths under time pressure. Prioritise number fluency, the four operations, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics, measures, perimeter, area, data handling and multi-step word problems. Practise choosing an efficient method quickly, setting work out clearly and checking for avoidable errors. Once methods are secure, use short timed sets rather than rushing straight into endless full papers.

English

English preparation should centre on strong reading skills and careful attention to language. Practise comprehension with fiction and non-fiction, inference, vocabulary in context, authorial choice and retrieving exact evidence from a text. It is also worth strengthening spelling, punctuation and grammar fundamentals because these support accuracy under pressure. Encourage your child to read a wide range of material and discuss unfamiliar words regularly.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning usually rewards method as much as raw speed. Build vocabulary steadily and teach question types explicitly: codes, letter and number patterns, relationships between words, sequence work, and structured logic tasks. Children often improve quickly once they understand the rule behind each type, so keep a notebook of common patterns and frequent mistakes. Timed mini-sections help them learn not to get bogged down.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-Verbal Reasoning is about spotting visual rules accurately. Practise shape sequences, rotations, reflections, codes, symmetry, similarities and differences, and problems involving changes across rows or columns. Encourage your child to describe the rule aloud before answering. This slows them down at first, but it builds the habit of looking systematically rather than guessing. Later, move to timed practice so they learn to recognise common patterns quickly.

Because Highsted’s format is balanced across four subjects, avoid over-focusing on a favourite area. A child who is very strong in Maths but underprepared in English or reasoning may find the overall experience harder than expected. Balanced preparation is the safest route.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are part of a plan, not used as a last-minute scramble. Start with untimed or lightly timed work so your child learns the question styles. Then introduce timed sections, and only later use occasional full papers to build stamina.

After every paper, spend more time reviewing than marking. Ask:

Which questions were wrong because of knowledge gaps?
Which were wrong because of rushing or misreading?
Which types took too long?
Did your child leave anything blank unnecessarily?

Keep an error log by subject. This turns practice papers into a revision map and stops the same mistakes recurring.

For this school, use materials that cover all four tested subjects. ElevenReady’s free resources for Highsted are here:

If you use a mock exam, treat it as a diagnostic tool rather than a verdict. The value is in experiencing a formal setting, learning how your child reacts to timings, and spotting practical issues such as slow starts, skipping instructions or losing focus between sections. One or two well-timed mocks are usually enough for most children.

Try not to flood your child with paper after paper in the final weeks. A smaller number of well-reviewed papers is far more effective than a large number rushed through without reflection.

On the day

Keep the morning calm and ordinary. Aim for a good night’s sleep, a familiar breakfast and plenty of time to arrive without a rush. If your daughter tends to feel anxious, avoid last-minute quizzing in the car or at the school gate.

Check the school’s instructions the night before
Pack any required items early
Leave in good time
Encourage your child to listen carefully to the invigilator before each section starts

Remind her of a simple approach:

Read the instructions properly
Start positively
Keep moving if one question feels difficult
Come back if there is time
Check obvious slips at the end of a section

For mixed-format testing, the transition between subjects can feel as demanding as the questions themselves. Practising calm resets at home helps: a breath, eyes on the page, then start the next section fresh.

After the test, resist the temptation to do a detailed post-mortem. Most children remember the hardest few questions and assume they went badly. A quiet, matter-of-fact response from parents is usually best.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

After testing, the usual sequence is: assessment of grammar-school suitability, submission or confirmation of secondary school preferences through the local authority process, national allocation day, and then waiting lists or appeals where relevant.

For Highsted specifically, the school’s admissions page says pupils joining Year 7 must be judged suitable for grammar-school education through the Kent selection procedure or the Highsted optional test. It also states that there is no differentiation between those routes to eligibility. Once eligibility is established, places are allocated using the published oversubscription rules.

The exact date when Highsted optional-test results are issued for 2028 entry was not confirmed in the sources reviewed here. Parents should therefore check the school’s admissions page and Kent County Council’s admissions timetable for the live cycle.

If your child qualifies but is not offered a place on allocation day, you can usually consider:

Waiting lists, which move as families accept other offers
An appeal, if you believe there are strong grounds under the published admissions framework

Appeals and waiting-list arrangements should always be checked on the school’s and local authority’s current admissions pages, because procedures and deadlines are set formally each year.

What has changed recently

The school’s admissions page for the recent cycle confirms an additional Highsted Test application period for September 2027 entry, with a deadline of 4.00 pm on Wednesday 1 July 2026, and states that the optional test is taken at the school in September. It also says pupils wishing to sit the Highsted optional test must also have registered for the Kent Test. For admissions policy, the information we hold (not yet verified with the school) for this guide is that there is no differentiation between Kent Test and Highsted Test routes to eligibility.

Beyond that, no further announced recent change to board, format, catchment or places was clearly published in the sources reviewed here in a way suitable to state more specifically. Parents should still check the school’s admissions page each spring and summer for any update for the live entry year.

Frequently asked questions

Does Highsted Grammar School have its own 11+ test?

Yes. Highsted offers an optional school test alongside the Kent Test route. The school’s admissions information says pupils wishing to use this route must also have registered for the Kent Test.

What subjects should my child prepare for Highsted?

For 2028 entry, our working assumption, not yet verified with the school, is Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Balanced preparation across all four is the safest approach.

Is there a catchment area for Highsted Grammar School?

For this guide, the information we hold (not yet verified with the school) supplied is that there is no catchment area in the admissions framework used here. If the school is oversubscribed, priority is based on the published oversubscription rules.

How many places does Highsted offer in Year 7?

The verified number for this guide is 150 Year 7 places. Always check the latest admissions arrangements in case the published intake changes in a future cycle.

When do I register for the Highsted test?

For the recent 2027 entry cycle, the school said the additional Highsted Test application period closed at 4.00 pm on Wednesday 1 July 2026. For 2028 entry, check the school’s admissions page for the new dates as soon as they are published.

Does passing the Highsted test guarantee a place?

No. Eligibility and allocation are separate stages. If the school is oversubscribed, places are offered using the published admissions criteria.

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Sources

Highsted Grammar School – Admissions: Highsted is a grammar school in Sittingbourne; pupils admitted at the start of Year 7 must be judged suitable for grammar school education under the Kent selection procedure or the Highsted optional test; the school accepts up to 150 pupils; the additional Highsted Test application period for Septem
Highsted Grammar School – Home: Confirms the school identity and website referenced in this guide.

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.