Maidstone Grammar School A GSG School
- Maidstone Grammar School
Barton Road
Maidstone
Kent
ME15 7BT - Head: Mr M Tomkins
- T 01622 752 101
- F 01622 753 680
- E school@mgs-kent.org.uk
- W www.mgs.kent.sch.uk
- A state school for boys aged from 11 to 18.
- Read about the best schools in Kent
- Boarding: No
- Local authority: Kent
- Pupils: 1,415; sixth formers: 357 (277 boys; 80 girls)
- Religion: None
- Open days: Open Evening for Year 7 entry: October; Sixth Form Open Evening: January
- Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review
-
Ofsted:
- Latest Overall effectiveness Good 1
- 16-19 study programmes Good 1
- Effectiveness of leadership and management Good 1
- 1 Full inspection 15th January 2019
- Previous Ofsted grade: Outstanding on 26th September 2013
- Ofsted report: View the Ofsted report
What The Good Schools Guide says..
School tackles thorny adolescent issues head-on so pupils have confidence talking about the likes of consent, sexual harassment and homophobia. ‘It’s come a long, long way,’ commented one alumnus – although some believe it’s still a stereotypically male environment. Probing questions like, ‘Is sexual harassment “just boys being boys”?’ around the school help address this. We saw good engagement throughout. In a theology and philosophy lesson on the issue of obstacles for Muslims during Ramadan in a western country, everyone wanted a say (clearly the no-hands up we noted in our last visit has been ditched). As in all classes we visited, the discussion was considered and well-articulated, with boys still finding time to write notes (use of laptops rare, which some think should be re-assessed...
What the school says...
Entrance tests set by local LEA (Maths, VR and non VR).
Do you know this school?
The schools we choose, and what we say about them, are founded on parents’ views. If you know this school, please share your views with us.
Please login to post a comment.
School associations
State grammar school
What The Good Schools Guide says
Head
Since 2012, Mark Tomkins BSc NPQH PGCE. Grew up in Cheltenham, where he was educated at Arle Comprehensive and Pate's Grammar. Read maths at Birmingham, returning to Cheltenham to do his PGCE. Kent boys’ grammars have almost exclusively been his bread and butter, the first nine years spent at Dartford Grammar and latterly six years at The Judd, Tonbridge as deputy head.
Very tall and self-assured, he could easily appear intimidating. Instead, he is well liked by all and widely considered to have re-energised the school. ‘Very open-minded, I can’t commend him highly enough,’ said a parent, while another told us that he’s ‘very much in charge, with a great vision, but a real listener too.’ Pupils say he ‘know our names’ and ‘is always chatty’.
Though...
Subscribe now for instant access to read The Good Schools Guide review.
Already subscribed? Login here.
Overall school performance (for comparison or review only)
Results by exam and subject
Subject results
Entry/Exit
Special Education Needs
Interpreting catchment maps
The maps show in colour where the pupils at a school came from*. Red = most pupils to Blue = fewest.
Where the map is not coloured we have no record in the previous three years of any pupils being admitted from that location based on the options chosen.
For help and explanation of our catchment maps see: Catchment maps explained
Further reading
If there are more applicants to a school than it has places for, who gets in is determined by which applicants best fulfil the admissions criteria.
Admissions criteria are often complicated, and may change from year to year. The best source of information is usually the relevant local authority website, but once you have set your sights on a school it is a good idea to ask them how they see things panning out for the year that you are interested in.
Many schools admit children based on distance from the school or a fixed catchment area. For such schools, the cut-off distance will vary from year to year, especially if the school give priority to siblings, and the pattern will be of a central core with outliers (who will mostly be siblings). Schools that admit on the basis of academic or religious selection will have a much more scattered pattern.
*The coloured areas outlined in black are Census Output Areas. These are made up of a group of neighbouring postcodes, which accounts for their odd shapes. These provide an indication, but not a precise map, of the school’s catchment: always refer to local authority and school websites for precise information.
The 'hotter' the colour the more children have been admitted.
Children get into the school from here:
regularly
most years
quite often
infrequently
sometimes, but not in this year
The Good Schools Guide newsletter
Educational insight in your inbox. Sign up for our popular newsletters.