Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact Fort Pitt Grammar School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact Fort Pitt Grammar School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
If your daughter does her best work in a school that knows her as a person rather than a name on a register, Fort Pitt is the kind of place worth a closer look. It sits high on Fort Pitt Hill above the Medway towns, on a site with a remarkable past: Queen Victoria came here three times in 1855 to visit soldiers wounded in the Crimea, and in 1860 Florence Nightingale chose the hill as the home of the country's first Army Medical School. The school itself grew out of the Chatham Institute, founded in 1916 to train girls for office work, became the first girls' technical school in the land in 1926, and has been a girls' grammar since 1984. The sense of tradition here is earned, not decorative.
What parents tend to notice first is the warmth. The school describes itself as diverse and happy, and the pastoral side comes up again and again, with high expectations sitting comfortably alongside genuine care for how each girl is getting on. Its values are short enough that the girls actually use them: respect, success, aspiration, resilience and collaboration. Being encouraged to take a risk, make a mistake and try again is part of the everyday language rather than a poster in a corridor. Among its former pupils is the fashion designer Zandra Rhodes.
This suits a girl who will settle and aim high in a warm, steady school that treats her as an individual. Fort Pitt is led by headteacher Ms Salena Hirons, and the girls who do best here are the ones who feel known.
Yes
Does Fort Pitt Grammar School have a catchment area?
Yes, of a kind. After looked-after children and siblings, priority goes to girls who live within 2 miles of the school, then to those in a list of named parishes on the Hoo Peninsula and nearby (such as Cuxton, Halling, Hoo St Werburgh, High Halstow and Cliffe). All applicants must first pass the Medway Test, and remaining places are offered by distance from the school.
Fort Pitt Grammar School uses the GL exam board as part of the Medway Test for its 11+ admissions.
No, there is no interview stage for 11+ admission to Fort Pitt Grammar School.
Fort Pitt Grammar School is a single-sex school for girls.
The official website for Fort Pitt Grammar School is https://www.fortpitt.co.uk/.
Yes, after looked-after children and siblings, priority is given to girls living within 2 miles of the school, then to those in named parishes on the Hoo Peninsula and nearby. All applicants must first pass the Medway Test.
To be considered, a child first needs to reach the required standard in the Medway Test. If the school has more qualified children than places, places go in this order: looked-after and previously looked-after children; siblings of pupils still at the school when the child starts; children of staff employed three years or more, or filling a shortage post; children living within two miles of the school; children in named parishes such as Cliffe, Cuxton, Halling and the Hoo peninsula; then all other children, by nearest safe walking distance. There is no general catchment area, and distance is the main tie-break, settled by random draw if needed.
The test is run by Medway Council, so this is handled by them, not the school. If your child is unwell on test day, you must tell the Medway Test team by email, and let the school know too. Where a child cannot sit the test, the council can arrange an alternative date if you provide evidence for the absence. If your child needs extra time or other support, this must be requested in advance through their current school before registration closes, and is decided by the council's special access panel.
