Invicta Grammar School: 11+ Entry Guide for Parents 2026

Invicta Grammar School is a selective state grammar school for girls situated in Bird-in-Hand Lane, Barming, on the western outskirts of Maidstone, Kent. It is one of the largest grammar schools in the county, with a Published Admission Number of 240 Year 7 places — making it a major hub for girls' selective education across the Maidstone borough and beyond. Entry is via the Kent Test, the county-wide 11+ examination administered by GL Assessment. Invicta Grammar School is part of the Victoria Academies and Institutes Trust (VIAT). This guide covers the test format, 2026 key dates, admissions criteria, and how to prepare effectively.

About Invicta Grammar School

Invicta Grammar School is located in Barming, a village immediately to the west of Maidstone town centre, well served by bus routes from Maidstone, Aylesford, and surrounding villages. The school draws students from across the Maidstone borough and from a wide catchment extending into rural mid-Kent. With 240 Year 7 places, it is one of the largest grammar school intakes in the county, contrasting with smaller Kent grammars that admit 120-150 pupils annually.

The school has a strong academic record across GCSE and A-Level, with particular strength in sciences and humanities. Sixth form provision is comprehensive, covering a broad range of A-Level subjects, and many girls continue to Russell Group universities and professional courses. Invicta competes for students with Maidstone Grammar School for Girls (MGGS), which is located to the east of Maidstone town centre, meaning that many families in the Maidstone area consider both schools when drawing up their common application form preferences.

Being part of VIAT connects Invicta with a wider trust of schools, though its admissions process is coordinated through Kent County Council's Pan-Kent system in the same way as other Kent grammar schools. Girls who register for the Kent Test through KCC are automatically included in Invicta's admissions pool if they list it as a preference on their Common Application Form.

The Kent Test: Format and What to Expect

The Kent Test is the same assessment used for all 33 Kent grammar schools. It is administered by GL Assessment and covers four areas: English (including reading comprehension and a writing task), mathematics (Key Stage 2 curriculum with a problem-solving emphasis), verbal reasoning (word codes, analogies, sequences, and language-pattern tasks), and non-verbal reasoning (shapes, matrices, spatial patterns, and abstract sequences). The test is split into two papers of approximately 45-50 minutes each, with a short break between them.

To be considered grammar school-able and eligible for Invicta, a girl must achieve a total standardised score of 332 or higher with no individual section score below 107. Age-standardisation means that summer-born girls are not disadvantaged relative to autumn-born girls — the scoring system adjusts for each child's age at the time of taking the test.

The Kent Test's English component sets it apart from 11+ tests in most other counties. The reading comprehension section requires girls to read an unseen passage and answer questions testing inference, vocabulary in context, and understanding of structure and purpose. The writing task, taken under timed conditions, tests planning, organisation, vocabulary range, and accuracy. Children who read widely and have practised timed writing consistently before Year 6 perform substantially better on these components than those who have focused exclusively on reasoning and maths.

Verbal reasoning covers a consistent set of question types used by GL Assessment — word codes, word analogies, letter series, inserting missing words, identifying the odd one out in a word group, and others. These question types are entirely learnable once a child has been introduced to each format and understands the underlying logic. Non-verbal reasoning tests spatial awareness and abstract pattern recognition, also through a fixed set of question formats. Both sections reward systematic preparation over exposure alone.

The maths section covers the Key Stage 2 curriculum but with an emphasis on multi-step problem-solving and applied maths rather than straightforward recall. Girls who have strong KS2 knowledge but have not practised under timed conditions often find the pace challenging — the exam rewards both knowledge and speed.

Item	Details
Entry year	Year 7 (September 2027 for girls currently in Year 5)
Year 7 places	240 (Published Admission Number)
Trust	Victoria Academies and Institutes Trust (VIAT)
Test	Kent Test (GL Assessment)
Qualifying score	332 total; no single area below 107
Test date 2026 (Kent schools)	Thursday 10 September 2026
Test date 2026 (non-Kent schools)	Saturday/Sunday 12-13 September 2026
Results	Mid-October 2026
Common Application Form deadline	Saturday 31 October 2026

How Competitive Is Entry to Invicta Grammar School?

In a recent admissions cycle, Invicta Grammar School received approximately 662 applications for 244 available places — an oversubscription ratio of approximately 2.7:1 among qualified applicants. With 240 Year 7 places, Invicta is less oversubscribed per place than some of the smaller and more geographically central Kent grammar schools, but the absolute volume of applications is high given the large intake.

The practical implication is clear: scoring at exactly 332 does not guarantee a place. When the school is oversubscribed with qualifying applicants, the admissions criteria determine who receives an offer. Invicta does not operate a geographic priority zone — places go first to looked-after and previously looked-after children, then to girls with the highest proximity scores once those criteria are exhausted. Girls who live in Barming, Maidstone town centre, Aylesford, and nearby villages are typically best placed geographically. Girls travelling from further afield — Maidstone East, Staplehurst, or Headcorn — face more distance competition.

Approximately 18,000 children across Kent and neighbouring counties sit the Kent Test each year for around 7,000 grammar school places. The county-wide pass rate is approximately 25-30%. Of those who pass, not all will receive offers from their first-choice school — particularly in Maidstone where Invicta and MGGS both attract strong demand. Girls aiming for Invicta should target scores well above 332, not just at the threshold.

Admissions Criteria: How Places Are Allocated at Invicta

When more girls achieve the qualifying standard than there are places available at Invicta Grammar School, places are allocated in the following order:

1. Looked-after and previously looked-after children. These children receive the highest priority regardless of score or distance, in line with the School Admissions Code.

2. All other qualifying applicants, by proximity. Once looked-after children have been accommodated, all remaining places are allocated by straight-line distance from the child's permanent home address to the school gate. There is no further priority for siblings, Pupil Premium, or other criteria beyond this. The closest qualifying girl to the school receives the first offer in this group, and so on until all places are filled.

This is a notably simpler priority structure than many Kent grammars — Invicta does not give priority to Pupil Premium children or to siblings in the way that Highsted and some other schools do. The result is that proximity is essentially the only differentiator once the qualifying standard has been met, other than looked-after status. Families who live within walking distance or a short bus journey of Barming are in the strongest position. For families who live further away but whose daughter has scored very strongly on the Kent Test, it is worth checking recent cut-off distances from previous years to understand whether an offer is likely.

Preparing for Invicta: What High-Scoring Girls Do Differently

Having worked with many girls preparing for Invicta Grammar School and Kent grammar schools generally, our tutors observe consistent differences between girls who score well above the qualifying threshold and those who pass or fall narrowly short.

They have specifically practised the English writing task under timed conditions. This is the component most commonly underweighted in preparation. Many families focus heavily on verbal reasoning codes and maths problem-solving while treating writing as a natural skill requiring no specific practice. Girls who have written timed pieces regularly — practising how to plan in 2-3 minutes and write fluently for 15-20 minutes — produce significantly stronger writing scores on the day.

They understand every verbal reasoning question type before the exam. GL Assessment uses a consistent set of verbal reasoning formats. Girls who have been taught each type explicitly — shown the logic, worked through examples, and practised until the format feels automatic — outperform girls who have only been exposed to practice papers without focused instruction. The question types are entirely learnable, but they must be learned deliberately rather than absorbed passively.

They have developed a genuine reading habit. The comprehension section rewards broad vocabulary and reading stamina. Girls who read widely — fiction, non-fiction, newspapers, longer pieces — develop the capacity to process an unseen passage quickly and accurately, inferring meaning and identifying authorial intent. This cannot be built in the final weeks before the test; it requires consistent reading from at least Year 4 onwards.

They have practised maths in timed conditions from early Year 5. The maths section is not conceptually harder than strong KS2 work, but time pressure is significant. Girls who have drilled maths under exam conditions — working through problem sets with a timer — develop the automatic recall and checking habits that produce reliable scores. Those who have only done untimed homework find the paced nature of the test disproportionately difficult.

Invicta Versus Maidstone Grammar School for Girls: Key Differences

Many Maidstone-area families compare Invicta Grammar School with Maidstone Grammar School for Girls (MGGS), which is also a girls' grammar school in Maidstone but located to the east of the town centre on Buckland Road. The key practical differences are: Invicta is in Barming (west of town, ME16 postcode), while MGGS is near the town centre (ME15/ME14 postcode area). Both schools use the Kent Test and the same 332 qualifying threshold. MGGS has a PAN of 210, compared to Invicta's 240.

Families in east Maidstone, Bearsted, or the rural villages to the east of town are geographically closer to MGGS. Families in west Maidstone, Aylesford, Larkfield, Snodland, and the areas towards Tonbridge are typically closer to Invicta. Girls who live in the town centre itself may be equidistant. Both schools have excellent reputations and similar academic outcomes; the practical choice often comes down to which is geographically closer and which the family visits and prefers.

For a broader view of Kent grammar schools and how the Kent Test works, see our complete grammar school preparation guide for 2026, and for detailed guidance on the Kent Test format see our Kent Test parent guide.

Frequently Asked Questions