Know exactly where your child stands for The Skinners' School
Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact The Skinners' 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 The Skinners' School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
The Skinners' School
The Skinners' School is a boys' grammar school in Royal Tunbridge Wells. It uses the GL exam board for its 11+ entry and does not include an interview stage. Admissions are based on a defined catchment area, split into West Kent (inner) and Outer Area, with places offered by distance.
If your son is academic but you do not want him pinned down to one mould, Skinners' tends to reassure on the first visit. Parents often tell the Good Schools Guide they are surprised by how much music and drama are valued here, and that there is no one type of boy who gets involved. Rugby is taken seriously, but it sits beside the arts rather than crowding them out. This is a boys' grammar in Royal Tunbridge Wells, around eleven hundred pupils strong, with a sizeable sixth form that includes girls.
The school has a quiet sense of its own history. It opened in 1887, founded by the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the old City of London livery companies, beginning with fifty-three boys, some of whom walked several miles each way to reach class. It has stayed close to those roots while growing, and the aim it sets itself is academic strength alongside genuine independence as a learner, with a real belief in learning outside the classroom.
Pastoral care draws warm comment too. Counselling is not only offered but treated as normal, and mental health is taken seriously rather than brushed past. The head is Edward Wesson. Skinners' suits a boy who is ready to be stretched but who also wants room to find his own thing, whether that turns out to be on the pitch, the stage or in the practice room, and who will settle quickly into a school that prizes kindness as much as results.
Key facts
Admissions
Admissions contact
admissions@skinners-school.org.uk
Admissions phone
0189 252 0732
Registration form
https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/school-places/kent-test
Sibling policy
What this school tests
Kent Test
English
- Punctuation
- Reading Comprehension - Comparison
- Reading Comprehension - Evaluation
- Reading Comprehension - Grammar and punctuation
- Reading Comprehension - Inference and Deduction
- Reading Comprehension - Information Retrieval
- Reading Comprehension - Language Techniques and Imagery
- Reading Comprehension - Sentence-level Comprehension
- Reading Comprehension - Sequencing
- Reading Comprehension - Structure, Form, Voice and Tone
- Reading Comprehension - Summarising
- Reading Comprehension - Text Classification and Purpose
- Reading Comprehension - Types of Words and Phrases
- Reading Comprehension - Word Meaning / Choice
- Sentence Completion
- Spelling
Maths
- Algebra
- Angles and Degrees
- BIDMAS
- Coordinate Grids
- Estimation and Rounding
- Factors and Multiples
- Fractions, Decimals and Percentages
- Magic squares
- Measurement
- Money
- Number and Place Value
- Number Walls
- Operations
- Perimeter, Area and Volume
- Position and Direction
- Properties of Shapes
- Ratio and Proportion
- Reflection, Rotation and Symmetry
- Sequences
- Special Numbers
- Speed, Distance and Time
- Statistics
- Time
Non-verbal Reasoning
- Extended Figure Series
- Figure Analogies
- Figure Matrices
- Figure Operations
- Figure Series
- Grid Matrices
- Horizontal Codes
- Most Like Three Figures
- Most Like Two Figures
- Odd Figure Out
- Star Matrices
- Triangle Matrices
- Triangle Series
- Vertical Codes
Verbal Reasoning
- Anagrams
- Compound Words
- Embedded Words
- Form a Word
- Insert a Letter
- Letter Analogies
- Letter Calculations
- Letter Codes
- Letter Grids
- Letter Sequences
- Move 1 / 2 Letters
- Number Analogies
- Number Calculations
- Number Sequences
- Related Words
- Rhyming Synonyms
- Shuffled Sentences
- Synonyms
- Word / Logic Puzzles
- Word Analogies
- Word Completion
- Word Match
- Word Opposites
- Word Pairs
- Word Relationships
- Words and Codes
Spatial Reasoning
- 2D Rotations
- Block Counting
- Combining Shapes
- Fold and Punch
- Folding Cubes
- Hidden Shapes
- Missing Face of Cube
- Shape Completion
Catchment area
Does The Skinners' School have a catchment area?
Yes. Skinners' uses a defined admissions area, split into a West Kent (inner) area and an Outer Area, with places offered to qualifying boys by distance; the furthest distance offered changes year to year.
Selection review and safety net
Previous exam results
GCSE results
In 2025 students achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 70.8 across their GCSEs. 93.4% gained a grade 5 or better in both English and Maths. 62.9% achieved the English Baccalaureate at grade 5 or above.
Reference: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/
A-level results
In 2025 students achieved a B+ average grade per A-Level entry. 31% gained AAB or better including two facilitating subjects.
Reference: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/
Frequently asked questions
What exam board does The Skinners' School use for the 11+?
The Skinners' School uses the GL exam board for its 11+ entrance exam.
Does The Skinners' School interview as part of the 11+?
No, The Skinners' School does not have an interview stage as part of its 11+ admissions process.
Is The Skinners' School co-educational or single-sex for 11+ entry?
The Skinners' School is a single-sex boys' grammar school for 11+ entry. It has a sizeable sixth form that includes girls.
What is The Skinners' School's official website?
The official website for The Skinners' School is http://www.skinners-school.co.uk/.
Does The Skinners' School have a catchment area for 11+ admissions?
Yes, The Skinners' School uses a defined admissions area, split into a West Kent (inner) area and an Outer Area. Places are offered to qualifying boys by distance.
What type of school is The Skinners' School?
The Skinners' School is a boys' grammar school located in Royal Tunbridge Wells.
Location
https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2503.168694380339!2d0.26060069999999996!3d51.14224019999999!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x47df45c3661812e7%3A0xec4a2b086e9932ba!2sThe%20Skinners%E2%80%99%20School!5e0!3m2!1sen!2suk!4v1780593653430!5m2!1sen!2suk
