At a Glance
Assessment: GL 11 Plus (Kent test)
Fees Type: Free
Boarding: Day school
Admissions: Boys Only
Places per year: 160
Introduction
The Skinners’ School is a selective boys grammar in Royal Tunbridge Wells with specialist status in Science, Mathematics and Computing. This status attracts additional government funding to expand such programmes even further. The school is rated ‘Good’ overall by Ofsted with ‘Outstanding’ rankings in two of the five categories. Comments from the recent Ofsted inspection in 2021 included: ‘Pupils have a deep pride in The Skinners’ School. They talk passionately about what the school offers them. They are very happy with how their teachers help them to learn well.’ and ‘Teachers’ excellent subject knowledge supports pupils to extend their understanding very effectively’. Beyond academics, the school has an emphasis on extracurricular pursuits and especially encourages the boys to become involved in the running of such activities. Students of the Skinners School first established and their successors continue to operate Medical, Philosophy and Law societies as well as beginning a theatre company. Further there are numerous opportunities for the development of leadership experience as a house prefect, sports captain, open day ambassador and many other such roles beyond.
Boys attending The Skinners’ School show an outstanding record of achievement and the school itself does seem to increase the boys’ potential beyond nationally expected levels, evidenced by their Progress 8 score of 0.62. Progress 8 is a measure from -1 to 1 of how well children at a certain school performed in their Key stage 4 examinations when compared to boys attending other schools around the country who started with the similar Key stage 2 results. A score of 1 would imply that children have achieved 1 grade higher in each of their GCSE’s than the nationally expected progress for a child with their KS2 results. The Attainment 8 score for The Skinners’ School shows that this progress does equate to strong grades in a broad range of subjects with a score of 72.1 versus the nation average of 46.7. This score is calculated based on grades received across the saem 8 subjects as considered by Progress 8 and includes; English, Maths, three English baccalaureate subjects (including Sciences, Humanities and languages) and three other subjects. Progress 8 is a good indication of the schools capacity to improve the prospects of children and Attainment 8 gives an indication of wider success but in core subjects boys at The Skinners’ School also perform very strongly with almost all boys (97%) achieving grades 5 or above at GCSE.
Choosing the correct grammar school for your child can be a daunting task and keeping on top of all the application documents and key events difficult. We at 11 Plus Hero are here to help guide you through the process so that you can focus on the important bit, making sure you find the right school and make a strong application to secure a place. To that end, on the 11 Plus Hero website we host a range of familiarisation materials and practise papers which will help your child prepare for the selective entrance examination – The Kent Test – which needs to be passed in order to be eligible for admission to The Skinners’ School.
The Skinners’ School Key Information
We regularly keep up to date on the core school information for The Skinners’ School including key school contacts.
School Address
Full Address:
The Skinners' SchoolSt John's Road
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Kent
TN4 9PG
Contact Information
Parking in the school
- Parking is not available on the site but can be found close by on John Street or slightly further away in the centre of Royal Tunbridge Wells.
Additional parking off site
- John Street Car Park, 16 John Street, Tunbridge Wells, TN4 9RU. Mon to Sun 24h.
- Meadow Road Car Park, Meadow Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN1 2EN. Mon to Sun, 7am to 11pm.
Additional parking off site
- John Street Car Park, 16 John Street, Tunbridge Wells, TN4 9RU. Mon to Sun 24h.
- Meadow Road Car Park, Meadow Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN1 2EN. Mon to Sun, 7am to 11pm.
Key Information for The Skinners’ School
PAN for Year 7 intake (2023)
Total Student Capacity Years 7 to 13 (2022)
Total Students Years 7 to 13 (2022)
Percentage Capacity (2022)
Latest Ofsted Rating (2021)
Selection Test
The Skinners’ School’s Key Dates and Application Information
It can be difficult to keep track of all the dates and deadlines for school admission and so 11 Plus Hero has created this guide to help you stay on track!
Applications for Secondary School intake 2023
Open evening
Registration for Kent test
Registration of special access requirements for children with SEND by the SENCO from their current school
Kent Test - Exam date for children attending school in Kent
Kent Test - Exam date for children attending school outside of Kent
Kent Test results date
Common Application form (CAF) Deadline
Application Documents for The Skinners’ School
Below we provide the key sources of information for The Skinners’ School including school specific and governmental resources.
The Skinners’ School Exam Format
In order to be eligible for admission to The Skinners’ School it is necessary for boys to pass thes selective admissions assessment – The Kent Test. As the name suggests this test is common to all Grammar schools in Kent and passing provides admissions eligibility to all Kentish Grammar schools. The test is set by the most widely used exam board GL 11 Plus.
The GL 11 Plus Kent Test: Overview
On this page 11 Plus Hero provides an overview of the Kent Test core components. To provide the best service possible we have created a single centralised page with in-depth information for all Kentish Grammar school, which allows us to provide consistent and thorough information. This article can be found here: ‘Selective Tests in Kent – The Kent Test’.
Paper One
A multiple choice English and Maths paper written by GL 11 Plus and lasting 1 hour.
Paper Two
A multiple choice Verbal Reasoning and Non-verbal reasoning paper written by GL 11 Plus and lasting 1 hour.
Additional
A creative writing exercise written by the school and lasting 40 minutes.
The Kent Test - GL 11 Plus Assessment Criteria
| English | Maths | Verbal Reasoning | Non-Verbal Reasoning | Additional |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pass Mark
The GL 11 Plus Kent Test: Pass Criteria
The Kent Test threshold pass mark to be denoted eligible for grammar school education is decided upon every year based on the range of marks children in the year group achieve. As such it is not possible to quote a passing grade before the test is taken. An individual child’s score is calculated by taking the scores in the multiple choice papers, combining them and statistically standardising the scores with an adjustment for the age of children. It is this aggregate score which must surpass the determined threshold for eligibility. For more information and pass marks from previous years please see the centralised article ‘Selective Tests in Kent – The Kent Test’.
Pass Mark
The GL 11 Plus Kent Test: Pass Criteria
The Kent Test threshold pass mark to be denoted eligible for grammar school education is decided upon every year based on the range of marks children in the year group achieve. As such it is not possible to quote a passing grade before the test is taken. An individual child’s score is calculated by taking the scores in the multiple choice papers, combining them and statistically standardising the scores with an adjustment for the age of children. It is this aggregate score which must surpass the determined threshold for eligibility. For more information and pass marks from previous years please see the centralised article ‘Selective Tests in Kent – The Kent Test’.
Catchment Area
The Skinners’ School operates a priority catchment area which it will initially admit children from, before looking further afield. Within these geographical distinctions the school also operates super selective admissions meaning that priority is given to students achieving the highest grades. Here we break down these groupings.
- The West Kent area – Up to 140 places of the 160 PAN will be offered to children who permanent residence is within 3 miles of the school in a straight line or in otherwise located in the following parishes:
- Badgers Mount Bidborough Brasted, Brenchley Capel Chevening, Chiddingstone Cowden Dunton, Green, Edenbridge Goudhurst Hadlow, Halstead Hever Hildenborough, Horsmonden Ightham, Kemsing, Knockholt Lamberhurst Leigh, Otford Paddock Wood Pembury, Penshurst Plaxtol, Riverhead, Rusthall Seal Sevenoaks, Sevenoaks Weald Shipbourne Shoreham, Southborough, Speldhurst Sundridge with Ide Hill, Tonbridge Tunbridge Wells Westerham.
- Pupil Premium – 14 Places are reserved for those within the West Kent area who qualify for pupil premium. Students qualify if they currently receive, or at any point in the last 6 years received, free school meals. Applicants under this clause must be supported by The Skinners’ School Admissions Supplementary Information Form’ which can be found in the Application Documents section.
- Up to 112 places will be offered to boys who occupy permanent residence in the West Kent area who have achieved a Kent Test score 40 points above the threshold score with the priority order:
- Those with a sibling in attendance at the school
- Those with a parent who has been a member of staff for two years or has more recently been hired on an area of demonstrable skill shortage
- Those living in closest proximity to the school
- If places remain in this 112 place bracket then boys will be admitted who occupy permanent residence in the West Kent area and who have achieved a Kent Test score above the threshold with the priority order:
- Those with a sibling in attendance at the school.
- Those with a parent who has been a member of staff for two years or has more recently been hired on an area of demonstrable skill shortage.
- Those living in closest proximity to the school.
- Governors Places – Up to 14 places are reserved for boys who achieved the highest scores in the Kent Test by combined rank order who would not otherwise be admitted.
- Outer Area Pupil Premium places – 2 Places are reserved for those who qualify for pupil premium and occupy permanent residence outside the defined ‘West Kent Area’ but within the mainland of the United Kingdom.. Students qualify if they currently receive, or at any point in the last 6 years received, free school meals. Applicants under this clause must be supported by The Skinners’ School Admissions Supplementary Information Form’ which can be found in the Application Documents section.
- Outer Area Main places – Up to 18 places are reserved for both who occupy permanent residence outside the defined ‘West Kent Area’ but within the mainland of the United Kingdom.
- Two of these places are reserved for those who qualify for pupil premium. Students qualify if they currently receive, or at any point in the last 6 years received, free school meals. Applicants under this clause must be supported by The Skinners’ School Admissions Supplementary Information Form’ which can be found in the Application Documents section.
- Boys with a Kent Test score 40 points over the threshold.
- Those with a sibling in attendance at the school
- Those with a parent who has been a member of staff for two years or has more recently been hired on an area of demonstrable skill shortage
- Those living in closest proximity to the school
Additional Eligibility
It is a prerequisite that all children must have passed the Kent Test to be admitted to The Skinners’ School however some children may be eligible for prior admission to the school if it can be proven that admission would be especially beneficial to the child in a medical or social requirement.
- Boys with an Education, Health and Care Plan which specifically mentions The Skinners’ School will be admitted
- Boys who are currently in care or have at any point been in care of the local authority will be admitted with priority
The Skinners’ School FAQs
- The Skinners’ School uses the Kent Test for selective admissions. The threshold pass mark of the Kent Test is determined on a year by year basis depending on the scores received by all applicants for the test that year. For further details on how pass marks are calculated please see the Pass Mark section.
- The Kent test is composed on two multiple choice papers comprisog questions in KS2 curriculum English and MAths alongside Verbal and Non-verbal Reasoning questions. There is also a creative writing exercise that is reviewed at the stage of appealing a place. Further details can be found in the Skinners’ School Exam Format section.
- Kent County Council hosts familiarisation material to allow children to get used to the format of their exams which will be useful for the Kent. This can be found in the Application Documents section.
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