The Judd School 11 Plus Tuition

The Judd School is a grammar school for boys in Tonbridge, Kent, that offers up to 180 Year 7 places and, after looked-after children, ranks applicants by aggregate Kent Test score. For September 2026 entry, the school's cut-off scores were 389 for the Inner Area and 403 for the Outer Area. Leading Tuition prepares boys for that ranking with one-to-one online 11+ lessons.

Is passing the Kent Test enough for The Judd School?

No. A grammar assessment makes a boy eligible to be considered; it does not rank him. Judd's arrangements for September 2027 entry say all students must be boys assessed suitable for grammar school through the Kent Procedure for Entrance to Secondary Education (PESE). The arrangements then place any looked-after or previously looked-after children who hold a grammar assessment first, and rank everyone else by "ranked aggregate scores on the Kent PESE tests", the highest score taking the highest rank. Distance applies only where scores are the same, and a random draw settles any tie that remains. The arrangements are on Judd's admission arrangements page.

The table sets Judd's March cut-offs for 2023 to 2026 entry beside the Kent Test standard that the same cohort faced. The standards come from KCC's published thresholds where its pages give them, and otherwise from Judd's own sheet of past figures, which the school labels "Guide Only"; the cut-offs come from that sheet and from Judd's Year 7 page.

Source: KCC's Kent Test results pages as archived by the Internet Archive (2022 sitting, 2023 sitting, 2024 sitting); Judd's "Historical 11+ Information" sheet and Year 7 admissions page, judd.online. Read 24 October 2026.

Where KCC published a standard for a sitting, the table uses it. Judd's sheet prints a lowest single score of 109 for September 2023 entry and 108 for September 2025 entry, against KCC's 108 and 106. For the Outer Area in September 2024 entry, Judd's sheet gives 412 and KCC's admissions data workbook lists 410; the other cut-offs agree between the two.

A cut-off is a position in a ranked list, not a second pass mark. For September 2026 entry the Inner Area cut-off of 389 and the Outer Area cut-off of 403 sat against a pass mark of 332 for that cohort. Judd adds that not all boys on those scores were offered a place, so a score equal to the cut-off was not a guarantee. KCC's admissions data workbook lists 995 applications and 400 first preferences for Judd's 180 places for September 2026 entry.

KCC's standard for the 2026 Kent Test, which governs September 2027 entry, is a total score of 345 or more with no single score lower than 111, against the 332 and 108 on Judd's sheet for September 2026 entry. Scores run from 69 to 141 and the highest possible total is 423. KCC publishes the standard on its Kent Test results page. Judd's cut-offs for September 2027 entry are set by the offers made on National Offer Day, Monday 1 March 2027.

Does the Inner or Outer Area change the score a boy needs?

Yes, in the figures Judd publishes. Its arrangements for September 2027 entry give 157 of the 180 places to boys living in the Inner Area, which Judd defines by a list of postcodes and the civil parish of Halstead, and 23 to boys living in the Outer Area, defined as anywhere outside the Inner Area and within England. Within the Inner Area, 152 places form the main allocation and up to 5 are held for boys eligible for Free School Meals or Pupil Premium, who are ranked on aggregate score in their own group.

Judd publishes a separate cut-off for each area, and the Outer Area figure was higher in every year of the table: 403 against 389 for September 2026 entry, and 398 against 371 for September 2025 entry. Distance is only a tie-break between equal scores, so living outside the Inner Area does not remove a boy from the ranking. It places him against the higher line.

Judd's arrangements also say applicants may be successful from any area, and ask parents who live at a distance to consider very carefully whether the daily commute, plus evening and weekend activities, is a reasonable imposition for their child. KCC's Kent Test registration is open to parents of children resident in England, and a family outside Kent must list Judd on its home local authority's application form.

Which of the three Kent Test scores has the most headroom?

KCC reports three standardised scores for each child, one for English, one for maths and one for reasoning, plus a total. A slight adjustment is made for each child's age so that the youngest are not at a disadvantage. Standardised scores explained covers how a raw mark becomes one of these scores.

Judd publishes the mean of each of the three scores for the boys it offered places to. These are the figures for September 2026 entry, which is one year:

Source: Judd's Year 7 admissions page, judd.online (March 2026 update), read 24 October 2026.

Set against the 141 ceiling on each score, the Inner Area means leave 4.3 points in maths (141 minus 136.7), 3.9 in reasoning (141 minus 137.1) and 18.3 in English (141 minus 122.7). The Inner Area total mean of 396.5 sits 26.5 below the maximum of 423 (423 minus 396.5), and 18.3 of those 26.5 points were in English. The Outer Area means show the same order, with English lowest at 129.6.

That is one year, and it should be read as one year. Judd's page also gives the September 2025 entry Inner Area means, 127.95 for English, 130.18 for maths and 131.34 for reasoning, which is a visibly different mix. What the table does show is that, for the boys offered places for September 2026 entry, maths and reasoning scores were already close to the ceiling on average, while English was not. Because the ranked figure is the total, a point on any paper counts equally, and KCC's standard for September 2027 entry also requires that no single score falls below 111.

What does the Kent Test sitting ask of a boy?

KCC describes two papers. The first covers English and maths and takes 1 hour: each section has a 5 minute practice exercise followed by a 25 minute test, and the English section is a comprehension exercise plus additional questions drawn from a set designed to test literacy skills. The second is a reasoning paper of about 1 hour including the practice sections, with a verbal reasoning section and a non-verbal reasoning section of roughly the same length; the non-verbal reasoning is split into short sections, each administered and timed on its own. Questions are multiple choice, answered on a separate answer sheet that a computer marks.

KCC's familiarisation booklet, which KCC labels as previous years' material, gives a 10 minute practice and a 20 minute test for verbal reasoning and 4 to 5 minutes for each non-verbal and spatial subtest. It warns that not all the question types it illustrates will necessarily appear and that the test will include types not shown.

There is also a writing exercise of 40 minutes, including 10 minutes of planning time. KCC says it is not marked but may be used by a local headteacher panel as part of the headteacher assessment stage. Because it is not marked, it carries no score in the aggregate that Judd ranks on. For the county as a whole, see our 11+ tuition in Kent page.

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Which practice material do Kent and Judd point to, and what changes from the 2027 sitting?

On its prepare for the Kent Test page, KCC links a Kent Test familiarisation paper (a PDF) and a range of free familiarisation materials. Judd's own pages point boys eligible for Pupil Premium to a free Atom Learning account, giving free online learning and 11+ preparation.

The provider behind the test is changing. KCC's news item of 16 October 2026 says a new provider has been appointed to deliver the Kent Test for children applying for secondary school places in September 2028: Quest Assessments (Atom Learning Ltd) will take over when KCC's current contract with GL Assessment comes to an end. The new arrangements apply to children taking the Kent Test from 2027.

KCC states: "The structure, timing and purpose of the test will remain the same, and the new provider will be working to the same specification as the previous provider." It adds that "there may be some differences in the design and presentation of questions, but families should not expect major changes". Its full notice is on the KCC news site.

Practice built on the skills each section draws on, rather than on familiarity with one set of question styles, is consistent with both statements.

What does preparation for The Judd School involve?

Judd ranks the total of three standardised scores. KCC's published format shows what each asks of a boy, and preparation drawn from it has six strands.

• A baseline by score. English, maths and reasoning are scored separately and the total is what Judd ranks, so the starting point is a separate reading of each, not one overall impression. In the September 2026 entry figures the offered boys' English mean was the lowest of the three.
• English across a long run. The English section combines a comprehension exercise with literacy questions inside a 25 minute test, so reading widely, vocabulary and close reading of a passage are built over months.
• Maths without slips. KCC's booklet says the questions cover topics taught in most schools up to the start of Year 6, plus a small number that may be harder than a child is used to. Preparation therefore covers those topics and includes practice on questions that are harder than a child is used to.
• Reasoning in separate timed blocks. Verbal and non-verbal reasoning are separate sections, and the non-verbal reasoning is cut into short, individually timed sections. Because the KCC booklet says the test includes question types not shown in its materials, a boy practises working out what an unfamiliar question asks before he chooses a method.
• The sitting rehearsed. Full sittings in the shape KCC describes: an English and maths paper of 1 hour with the 5 and 25 minute blocks, a reasoning paper of about 1 hour, and answers marked in the box with the same number on the separate answer sheet, since the booklet says only answers on the sheet are marked. Our mock exam strategy guide covers how to use mock sittings.
• The writing task. A boy learns to plan in 10 minutes and finish within the 40, since the piece is unmarked but may be seen by a local headteacher panel.

Leading Tuition's FAQs say all its lessons are delivered online, that one-to-one lessons are usually an hour long, and that for most students it recommends at least one session per week. On its 11+ tuition page, it says its 11+ specialists work with children from Year 4 onwards and that its tutors begin by identifying the specific test format a child will face, then build a preparation plan around that. For Judd, that format is the Kent Test described above, taught one to one and online.

When should a boy start, and which dates are already fixed?

Leading Tuition's 11+ specialists work with children from Year 4 onwards. The Kent Test itself is sat in September, for entry the following September. For September 2027 entry, KCC's age range was children born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016; registration opened on 1 June 2026 and closed on 1 July 2026; the test was sat on 10 September 2026 by pupils at Kent primary schools, and on the weekend of 12 and 13 September 2026 by pupils who do not attend a Kent primary school; and results were issued on 15 October 2026.

The same cycle continues into the application. The closing date for September 2027 applications is Monday 2 November 2026, and a Kent family can name up to 4 school preferences. Judd's Supplementary Information Form, for boys applying to the Free School Meals or Pupil Premium places, is due back at the school by 31 October 2026. KCC emails offers on Monday 1 March 2027 to applicants who gave an email address. The school's own Year 7 page lists its dates, and the full guide to the school's admissions covers the rest of the process.

For September 2028 entry, KCC says testing will continue to be in early September, with the specific date to be confirmed in its 2028 Determined Scheme, and that further information will be published when details are confirmed. Judd lists an Open Evening for Year 5 boys in June 2027, from 5 to 8pm, with the precise date to be announced and no booking needed. Entry to Judd's sixth form is a separate route, covered on our 16+ page for The Judd School.

What if a boy lands just under the line?

Judd's Year 7 page says a boy who has applied and not been offered a place may join the waiting list, regardless of where he placed Judd on the preference form, provided he has a selective score on the Kent Test. The arrangements for September 2027 entry say the waiting list will be maintained until 31 January 2028 and re-ranked under the same oversubscription criteria each time a boy is added or removed.

On how often that produces offers, the school says, in its March 2026 update: "In each of the last two years around 20 offers were made from the waiting list – the majority as part of the reallocation process - mostly within the Inner Area list." The waiting list uses the same oversubscription criteria as the original offers, so aggregate score ranks the list as well, after looked-after children.

Judd also sets aside up to 5 places for boys eligible for Free School Meals, or previously eligible and in receipt of Pupil Premium. The school says this is in addition to any such boys who reach the qualifying score.

Frequently asked questions about The Judd School 11+