Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact Holcombe 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 Holcombe Grammar School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
If your child does best with clear expectations, a strong routine and a real sense of belonging, Holcombe builds its days around exactly that. It is a selective grammar for ages 11 to 18 on Maidstone Road in Chatham, part of the Medway group of grammars and of the Thinking Schools Academy Trust. The place wears its history with some pride. Known as Chatham Grammar School for Boys until 2016, it took the name Holcombe after the manor house at the heart of its site, and its roots run back to 1817, with formal beginnings as a junior technical school in 1913 that trained young people for the Royal Navy and the dockyard.
The motto, Aspire and Achieve Together, captures the tone. The stated aim is for pupils to leave as confident, well-rounded young people with the academic and personal skills to do well in the wider world. House life is woven into the heritage of the place, with houses named after ships built at the nearby Chatham Dockyard, competing through sports days, cross country and rugby and hockey across the year. Pupils are organised into a Lower School, Middle School and Sixth Form, with a sizeable team of prefects and captains drawn from the older years.
Worth knowing for families applying now: Holcombe becomes co-educational from September 2026, admitting girls throughout the school alongside other Medway grammars. It is led by principal Lee Preston, with Mandy Gage as executive principal. The school suits a child who responds well to structure, clear expectations and the kind of belonging that comes through house and team.
Yes
Does Holcombe Grammar School have a catchment area?
There is no defined catchment area. Among children deemed selective in the Medway Test, places are allocated by oversubscription criteria, with the shortest distance from home to school used as the distance measure.
Holcombe Grammar School uses the GL exam board for its 11+ entry.
No, there is no interview stage for 11+ admission at Holcombe Grammar School.
Holcombe Grammar School is a single-sex school for boys.
There is no defined catchment area. Places are allocated based on the shortest distance from home to school for selective Medway Test candidates.
The official website for Holcombe Grammar School is https://www.holcombegrammar.org.uk/.
To be considered, a child first needs to reach the required standard in the Medway Test. If more children qualify than there are places, they are ranked in this order: looked-after and previously looked-after children first, then those with a sibling at the school, then children at the trust's named Medway primary schools, then children of staff, then those with a health reason supported by medical evidence, and finally by distance from home to school. There is no catchment area, and distance also settles ties within each group.
The Medway Test is run by Medway Council, not the school. If your child is unwell, report it on test day using Medway's test day information sheet and let the school know. There is no standard re-sit and no alternative date, so a missed test cannot usually be taken later. Plan any access arrangements early: children with an EHCP or a person-centred annual review get 25 per cent extra time where appropriate, and the request must come from your child's school before the Jun deadline.
