Dartford Grammar School for Girls 11 Plus: 2026 Ofsted Report, Pass Mark & Key Dates

Dartford Grammar School for Girls (DGGS) is one of Kent's most oversubscribed grammar schools, and the picture families are working from just changed. DGGS was re-inspected by Ofsted on 17-18 March 2026 under the brand-new report-card framework, and the resulting report - published 15 May 2026 - rates the school 'exceptional' in four separate areas, a result that predates most of the pages currently ranking for this search. This guide covers what that report actually says, exactly how the 180 Year 7 places are split between the priority area and open competition, why three different websites currently quote three different Kent Test pass marks, the full key-dates calendar for September 2027 entry, and who to contact directly at the school.

Is Dartford Grammar School for Girls Still Outstanding? What the March 2026 Ofsted Report Actually Says

Ofsted retired the single overall judgement (Outstanding, Good, and so on) in favour of a report-card model that scores a school across several separate areas rather than giving one headline word. DGGS was inspected under this new framework on 17-18 March 2026, and the report was published on 15 May 2026. The school's own summary of the findings, published on its Ofsted Report page, states plainly that the report "recognises 'exceptional' practice across four areas - Achievement, Attendance and Behaviour, Personal Development and Wellbeing, and Post 16 Provision (Sixth Form)." The three remaining areas, including Teaching and Curriculum, Inclusion, and Leadership and Governance, were evaluated as "Strong Standard" - itself a high rating on the new scale, just not the top tier.

The report is direct about what it found. On achievement, inspectors wrote that "pupils achieve extraordinarily well." On conduct around the school, the report states that "pupils' behaviour is exemplary, both during lessons and as they move purposefully around the school." Both quotes come directly from the school's published Ofsted summary, and both describe a school performing at the very top of the new framework even though the old single-word label no longer applies.

For context, the school's previous inspection took place on 19-20 October 2021, under the old system, and concluded that DGGS "continues to be outstanding," with a specific note that pupils "achieve exceptionally well by the time they reach the end of Year 11." Read together, the two reports tell a consistent story across two very different inspection frameworks: this is a school whose academic outcomes and pupil conduct have been independently verified as exceptional twice, five years apart, most recently in an inspection most competing 11+ guides have not yet caught up with. You can read the official inspection record, including publication dates, directly on Ofsted's own report page for the school.

Do You Live in the Priority Area? Why That Decides More Than Your Daughter's Kent Test Score

Every September, DGGS admits 180 girls into Year 7. Of those, 100 places are reserved specifically for girls who live in Dartford itself or in one of 18 named surrounding parishes. The remaining 80 places are open to any girl who meets the qualifying standard on the Kent Test, regardless of where she lives. In practice, this means the true competition for an out-of-area family is for a pool of 80 places, not 180 - a distinction that matters enormously when families are assessing their real chances.

The 18 parishes that make up the priority area, alongside Dartford itself, are: Ash-cum-Ridley, Fawkham, Stone, Bean, Hartley, Sutton at Hone and Hawley, Crockenhill, Hextable, Swanley, Darenth, Horton Kirby and South Darenth, Swanscombe and Greenhithe, Eynsford, Longfield and New Barn, West Kingsdown, Farningham, Southfleet, and Wilmington. Families living in any of these areas sit inside the priority-area pool of 100 places; families outside it are competing only for the remaining 80.

DGGS's oversubscription order, as set out in the school's Kent County Council admissions criteria, ranks applicants in this sequence: Looked After Children first, then children eligible for Pupil Premium under the Targeted FSM criteria, then the 100 priority-area places, and finally all other qualifying applicants. Understanding where your daughter sits in that order - address first, then Pupil Premium eligibility, then everyone else - is arguably more decisive for admissions strategy than her raw Kent Test score. For a wider view of how DGGS compares with other schools in the county, see our Kent 11+ borough guide.

What Score Do You Actually Need? Why Three Different 11+ Sites Quote Three Different Pass Marks

This is where the research trail gets genuinely inconsistent. Kent County Council's own published figure for the Kent Test is a total score of 332 or more, with no single section score below 108. That is the official standard used to determine whether a child is given a grammar school assessment at all. Yet two of the highest-ranking commercial 11+ tutoring websites for this exact search quote different numbers entirely - one currently states 109, the other states 107 - and neither publishes a source for its figure. Kent's own published figure is 108, not 109 and not 107.

Each of the two Kent Test papers is scored on a scale of 69 to 141, which gives a maximum possible aggregate score of 423 across the full test. A score of 332 with no section below 108 is the qualifying standard that determines whether a child receives a grammar school assessment - it is not, on its own, a guarantee of a place at any specific school, since place allocation then follows each school's individual oversubscription criteria, including the priority-area rules explained above. Families should treat Kent County Council's own guidance as the reference point each year, rather than any single third-party website's restated figure, including ours - the exact qualifying standard is confirmed annually and should always be checked directly.

Key Dates for September 2027 Entry: Registration, Test Day, Results

Families targeting September 2027 entry at DGGS are working to the following Kent County Council timetable. Registration for the Kent Test closes on Wednesday 1 July 2026. The Secondary Transfer application (often referred to as SCAF) then opens on Tuesday 1 September 2026, and this is the formal application through which parents rank DGGS and any other preferred schools in order of preference. Kent County Council has confirmed that Kent Test results for 2026 will be emailed to registered parents and guardians after 4:00pm on Thursday 15 October 2026, in good time for families to finalise their Secondary Transfer preference order before the national offer day the following spring.

Missing the 1 July registration deadline generally means a child cannot sit the Kent Test in the main autumn round, so this is the single most important date on the calendar for any family only starting to think about DGGS now. For the full independent and grammar school calendar alongside the Kent Test dates, see our 11+ exam dates guide, and browse our wider 11+ resources hub for preparation materials.

Inside the Kent Test at DGGS: What the Two Papers and the Unmarked Writing Task Actually Involve

The Kent Test that DGGS uses for entry is sat over two separate test sessions, plus a writing task. The first test is one hour long in total and is split into two sections, English and Maths. Each section consists of a 5-minute practice exercise followed by a 25-minute test, so children experience a short warm-up before each timed section begins.

The second test is built around reasoning skills. It opens with a Verbal Reasoning paper of around 30 minutes, including a 10-minute practice section, and is followed by separate Non-Verbal Reasoning and Spatial Reasoning papers of roughly 15 minutes each. Together, the two test sessions assess English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Spatial Reasoning across the full Kent Test.

Every candidate also completes a 40-minute writing task. It is worth being clear about what this task does and does not do: it is not marked as part of the Kent Test score itself, but it can be used in appeal cases, borderline cases, or at a Head's specific request. Families sometimes treat the writing task as an afterthought because it carries no direct mark, but a genuinely weak or rushed piece of writing can work against a child if her case is ever reviewed on the margins - so it is worth taking as seriously as the scored papers.

For structured practice on all five scored components, plus dedicated coaching on the unmarked writing task, see our 11+ tuition programmes.

Pupil Premium Priority: The FSM Rule Change Families Keep Getting Wrong

DGGS's admissions criteria give a specific priority to pupils in the Targeted FSM cohort, ranked above the priority-area criterion but below Looked After Children. The school's own admissions page confirms that "Targeted FSM - which continues to be based on the existing £7,400 income threshold" is the relevant test, and that "Pupil premium will only be available to those in the Targeted FSM cohort."

The distinction families most often miss is between Targeted FSM and Expanded FSM. Targeted FSM is the older, means-tested entitlement based on the £7,400 household income threshold. Expanded FSM is a broader, more recently introduced entitlement that many more families now qualify for automatically - but it does not carry the same admissions priority at DGGS. In other words, receiving free school meals through the expanded scheme does not, on its own, secure the Pupil Premium admissions priority; only families who meet the original Targeted FSM income test qualify for that specific place in the oversubscription order. Families who are unsure which category applies to them should check directly with the school's admissions office before assuming eligibility either way.

Sixth Form Entry From Outside DGGS: The GCSE Points Bar

Girls who did not attend DGGS for Years 7-11 can still apply for Sixth Form entry, but the academic bar for external applicants is set out clearly in Kent County Council's sixth-form admissions guidance. External candidates need a minimum of 52 points across 8 GCSE subjects, along with a minimum grade 5 in Mathematics and in English Language or Literature. This is a meaningful academic threshold, and families considering DGGS as a Sixth Form option from another school - rather than through the standard Year 7 Kent Test route - should check their daughter's likely GCSE profile against this bar well before the Sixth Form application window opens.

Given that DGGS's own Post-16 Provision was one of the four areas rated 'exceptional' in the March 2026 Ofsted report, external Sixth Form applicants are joining a setting that inspectors have specifically praised, not simply continuing on from Year 11 by default. That combination - a demanding points bar and a strong, independently verified Sixth Form - is worth factoring into any comparison with nearby schools such as Weald of Kent or Tonbridge Grammar.

Who to Actually Contact

DGGS was founded in 1904 and has been educating girls in Dartford for well over a century, a long institutional history that sits behind the school's current academic reputation and its March 2026 Ofsted findings. For any specific admissions question - whether about Year 7 entry, the priority area, Pupil Premium eligibility, or Sixth Form applications - the named point of contact is Mrs Balmer, the school's admissions officer, reachable on 01322 223123 ext 249 or by email at cbalmer@dartfordgrammargirls.org.uk. General admissions information and links to the prospectus are also published on the school's own Admissions page.

Because the March 2026 Ofsted report, the Kent Test dates for September 2027 entry, and the priority-area rules all interact with each other, families are best served by verifying the current year's exact figures directly with the school or with Kent County Council before finalising any admissions strategy - and by treating any third-party 11+ website's restated pass mark, including this one, as a starting point rather than the final word.

Frequently Asked Questions About Dartford Grammar School for Girls 11+ Entry