Oakwood Park Grammar School 11+ Guide 2026

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Oakwood Park Grammar School (OPGS) is a boys' selective grammar school in Maidstone, Kent, offering 160 Year 7 places for September 2027 entry. Entry requires passing the Kent Test, which takes place on Thursday 10 September 2026 for pupils at Kent primary schools and on Saturday 12 or Sunday 13 September 2026 for out-of-county applicants. Results are released on Thursday 15 October 2026. This guide covers the Kent Test format, the pass mark (a total standardised score of 332 or more), the school's oversubscription criteria, and how to structure your son's preparation for a realistic chance at one of OPGS's 160 places. See our Kent grammar schools guide 2026 for the wider Kent selective landscape.

Oakwood Park Grammar School (OPGS): Overview

Oakwood Park Grammar School was founded in 1918 and sits on Oakwood Park in Maidstone, ME16 8AH. It is a boys' selective grammar with around 994 pupils across Years 7 to 11, and operates a co-educational Sixth Form open to both boys and girls for A-level study. OPGS is part of the Kent 11+ Consortium — a group of Kent grammar schools that share the same entrance exam format and coordinated admissions process managed by Kent County Council.

The school follows the national curriculum and is divided into five houses, with pupils encouraged to participate in sport at local, county, and national levels, as well as music, drama, and volunteering. Ofsted rated the school Good. Academically, OPGS has a strong track record: 94.37% of GCSE pupils achieved grades 9-5 in English and Maths (strong passes), and 64.1% of Sixth Form students attained A*, A, or B grades at A-level. Many OPGS alumni go on to Russell Group universities, including Oxbridge. The school can be contacted via the admissions team at www.opgs.org or by emailing admissions@opgs.org.

OPGS is one of three grammar schools in the Maidstone cluster. The others are Maidstone Grammar School (also boys) and Maidstone Grammar School for Girls. Boys applying to OPGS often also list Maidstone Grammar School on their SCAF, and families with daughters frequently consider all three Maidstone grammars in a single Kent Test cycle.

Year 7 Entry: Places and Capacity at Oakwood Park Grammar School

OPGS admits 160 pupils into Year 7 each September. This is a well-subscribed intake by Kent grammar standards — Maidstone draws applicants from across Mid Kent, the Medway area, Tonbridge, and further afield, and in most years the number of boys who pass the Kent Test significantly exceeds the 160 available places.

This means that passing the Kent Test alone does not guarantee a place. A boy must pass the test (achieving a total standardised score of 332 or above, with at least 109 in each of the three subject components) and then rank highly enough under the school's oversubscription criteria for his SCAF preference to be fulfilled. Distance from the school becomes the decisive factor for the majority of applicants who do not fall into a higher-priority admissions category. In competitive years, boys living several miles from OPGS may pass the Kent Test but still not receive an offer — so families considering OPGS alongside other Kent grammars should check historical distance data and plan their school preference order carefully.

The National Offer Day for secondary school places is 1 March 2027. If your son does not receive an offer, you have the right to appeal the school's decision, and the writing component of the Kent Test (Section 3) can be submitted as supporting evidence during the appeals process.

What Is the Kent Test Format Used by Oakwood Park Grammar School?

OPGS uses the Kent Test (formally known as PESE — Primary Education Standards and Eligibility), which is the standard entrance assessment for all state grammar schools in Kent. The test is administered by GL Assessment and is divided into three sections sat on the same day.

Section 1 — Reasoning (60 minutes): This is a combined Reasoning paper covering three distinct areas: Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, and Spatial Reasoning. Verbal Reasoning questions test vocabulary, language logic, and the ability to identify patterns and relationships in words. Non-Verbal Reasoning uses shapes and diagrams to assess abstract thinking and pattern recognition. Spatial Reasoning — distinctive to the Kent Test compared to some other 11+ formats — assesses the ability to mentally manipulate 2D and 3D shapes, identify nets, and visualise rotations. Many children who practise English and Maths extensively underestimate Spatial Reasoning, but it carries equal weight within Section 1 and requires targeted, specific practice. See our Kent Test format guide 2026 for a detailed breakdown of all Reasoning question types.

Section 2 — English and Mathematics (60 minutes): This paper tests English comprehension and writing skills alongside Mathematical reasoning and calculation. The English component assesses reading comprehension, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary in context. The Mathematics component covers the primary curriculum up to Year 6, including number, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio, algebra, geometry, statistics, and problem-solving. Timing is a known challenge in Section 2 — many children find they do not finish under exam conditions if they have not practised pacing. Strong Section 2 performance often requires as much time-management training as content knowledge.

Section 3 — Writing Task (40 minutes): Children are given a creative or discursive writing task to complete within 40 minutes. This section is not included in the overall standardised score used to determine whether a child passes the Kent Test. However, it is retained by the school and can be submitted as supporting evidence in borderline cases and formal appeals. Families should not neglect this section in preparation — a well-presented, structured piece of writing can strengthen a borderline application at appeal stage.

Following the test, each child receives three separate standardised scores: one for English, one for Mathematics, and one total score that incorporates all Reasoning performance. A child must achieve a standardised score of at least 109 in each individual component and a total standardised score of 332 or more to be considered as having passed the Kent Test.

What Are the Key 2026 Dates for Oakwood Park Grammar School 11+ Entry?

For September 2027 Year 7 entry, the key dates in the 2026 Kent Test cycle are as follows.

Registration closed: Wednesday 1 July 2026. Registration for the Kent Test was managed via the Kent County Council online portal. If your son has not yet been registered, you should contact KCC directly as late registrations are handled on a case-by-case basis. Boys do not need to be resident in Kent to sit the test but must register through the same KCC system regardless of where they live.

Kent Test for Kent primary school pupils: Thursday 10 September 2026. Boys attending a Kent state primary school sit the test at their own school on this date, supervised by their own teachers. The test takes place during the school day.

Kent Test for out-of-county applicants: Saturday 12 or Sunday 13 September 2026. Boys who do not attend a Kent primary school — including those at independent preparatory schools, schools in other counties, or schools outside England — sit the test at a designated centre on one of these two weekend dates. Parents should confirm the specific date and venue assigned to their son in advance, as this is allocated rather than chosen.

Kent Test results: Thursday 15 October 2026. Results are emailed to the email address provided at registration. Each result letter gives the standardised scores and confirms whether your son has passed or not passed the Kent Test for grammar school entry.

Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) deadline: Friday 31 October 2026. All families must submit their secondary school preferences through their home local authority by this date. For families outside Kent, this means listing OPGS on the form they receive from their own LA. Families are advised to rank OPGS as their first preference if it is their genuine first choice, as preference ranking can affect distance-based allocations where LAs are involved.

National Offer Day: Monday 1 March 2027. Year 7 place offers are made on this date. If your son receives an offer, families typically have a short window (often two weeks) to accept or decline.

How Places Are Allocated When Oakwood Park Grammar School Is Oversubscribed

When the number of boys who pass the Kent Test exceeds the 160 available Year 7 places, OPGS applies its published oversubscription criteria to decide who receives an offer. These criteria are applied in strict priority order:

1. Boys with an EHCP naming OPGS. A boy holding an Education, Health and Care Plan that specifically names Oakwood Park Grammar School is given the highest priority and must be admitted regardless of the oversubscription position.

2. Looked-after children and those previously in care. This includes boys who are currently in local authority care (looked-after children) and those who were previously in care and subsequently adopted, including those adopted from care outside England.

3. Siblings. Boys with a sibling already attending OPGS at the time of application are given third priority. This includes brothers in the main school (Years 7-11) and siblings — including sisters — in the co-educational Sixth Form.

4. Medical, social, or special access needs. Boys with health or social needs that make OPGS specifically appropriate — even if they do not hold an EHCP — can apply under this criterion. Applications must be supported by a letter from a qualified medical or other relevant professional. Schools apply this criterion carefully and supporting documentation must be specific and compelling.

5. Pupil Premium. Boys who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the six years prior to application qualify under the Pupil Premium criterion. Applications under this category typically require completion of the school's Supplementary Information Form (SIF).

6. Distance. Where places remain after all higher-priority criteria have been applied, they are allocated to boys who live closest to the school, measured in a straight line from the school's main entrance to the child's home address. Distance is the final and most widely applied tiebreaker for the large majority of applicants.

For families living outside Maidstone — in Medway, Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, or further afield — the distance criterion means that a grammar school pass alone will not guarantee a place at OPGS. Applicants from outside the immediate Maidstone area should consider Invicta Grammar School and other Kent grammars that may be closer to their home address.

How Should My Son Prepare for the Oakwood Park Grammar School 11+?

Effective preparation for the OPGS 11+ means systematic, well-paced work across all five Kent Test components: Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Spatial Reasoning, English, and Mathematics. The most common mistakes families make are starting too late, neglecting Spatial Reasoning, and failing to build timed exam stamina before the test day.

When to start: For most children, 9 to 12 months of structured preparation before the September test date gives sufficient time without leading to burnout. A child beginning in September 2025 for the September 2026 test has an ideal preparation window. Starting earlier than 12 months adds diminishing returns for most Year 5 children. Starting later than 6 months before the test creates time pressure that is difficult to recover from.

Verbal Reasoning: The Kent Test includes a wide range of Verbal Reasoning question types — analogies, letter codes, word relationships, antonyms, odd-ones-out, and more. Children with strong reading habits from an early age tend to perform better in Verbal Reasoning because vocabulary breadth matters. For children who need to build vocabulary, a targeted word-learning programme (rather than general reading alone) is more efficient in the six months before the test. Practice papers should introduce each question type explicitly before timed mixed practice begins.

Non-Verbal Reasoning: Non-Verbal Reasoning draws on abstract pattern recognition and logical thinking rather than school curriculum knowledge. Many children find that explicit question-type training — learning to identify each variety of NVR question before attempting speed work — dramatically improves performance within a few weeks. A child who has never encountered matrix-type questions before the exam is likely to lose marks not for lack of ability, but for unfamiliarity with the question format.

Spatial Reasoning: Spatial Reasoning is the component most often underweighted in preparation. Many preparation resources focus on Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning, but Kent Test Spatial Reasoning covers 3D net identification, shape rotation, cube views, and similar tasks that require specific, practised skills. Children who have done puzzles, Lego building, or origami from a young age often have a natural advantage — but the specific question formats still require direct practice with past-paper-style materials.

English: The English component of Section 2 covers reading comprehension, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary. Comprehension questions range from retrieval to inference to language analysis, and children must practise writing short, accurate answers under time pressure. Grammar and punctuation should be covered systematically — not through general writing practice alone, but through targeted exercises covering the key Year 5-6 concepts: clause types, punctuation functions, active/passive voice, and word classes. Many children also find the Section 2 time constraint challenging even when they have strong English skills.

Mathematics: The Mathematics component covers the entire primary curriculum to Year 6 standard. Key areas that frequently appear in the Kent Test include fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio, word problems requiring multi-step reasoning, algebraic patterns, area, volume and perimeter, and statistics. Speed matters as much as accuracy — a child who works out every calculation on paper rather than applying mental maths strategies will often run out of time in Section 2. Building fluent mental arithmetic and estimation skills is as important as conceptual understanding.

Timed mock practice: No amount of individual topic work substitutes for full timed mock papers under exam conditions. From approximately three to four months before the test, children should be sitting complete timed sessions — at least one per week — to build the stamina, concentration, and pacing skills that the actual test demands. Mock results should be reviewed question by question to identify patterns in error types, which then feed directly back into targeted practice.

For expert 11+ tuition tailored to the Kent Test, our specialist tutors design programmes around each child's mock results and progression, ensuring preparation is focused on genuine gaps rather than topics already mastered.

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