Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys
St John's Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN4 9XB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Headteacher
- Ms Amanda Simpson
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Constituency
- Tunbridge Wells
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,308
- Pupils on roll
- 1,875
- URN
- 118790
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01892529551
About this school
Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys is a boys' community secondary school in Tunbridge Wells. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,875 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 227 | 235 | 217 |
| Attainment 8 score | 60.8 | 64.2 | 63.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.25 +0.06 to +0.44 | +0.46 +0.27 to +0.66 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 83% | 88.1% | 91.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 95% | 98.3% | 96.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 79% | 91.1% | 80.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.6 | 6.1 | 5.9 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Kent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 60.8 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 64.2 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 63.7 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,636 |
| 2023/24 | 1,730 |
| 2024/25 | 1,799 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys compares
Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys ranked 26th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 95% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 63.7 | 5.1% | 5.9% | 1,875 | — |
| St Gregory's Catholic School | 43.8 | 8.6% | 20.6% | 1,093 | 0.1 miles |
| Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School | 73.4 | 5.1% | 3.5% | 1,123 | 0.4 miles |
| The Skinners' School | 70.8 | 3.4% | 5.8% | 1,149 | 0.6 miles |
| Bennett Memorial Diocesan School | 54 | 5.1% | 10.1% | 1,913 | 0.8 miles |
| Skinners' Kent Academy | 38.4 | 8% | 31.1% | 1,017 | 1.5 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 5.92%
- English as an additional language
- 14.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.07%
- Persistent absence
- 11.22%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Gregory's Catholic School0.1 miles
Secondary · Tunbridge Wells
-
Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School0.4 miles
Secondary · Tunbridge Wells
-
The Skinners' School0.6 miles
Secondary · Tunbridge Wells
-
Bennett Memorial Diocesan School0.8 miles
Secondary · Tunbridge Wells
-
Skinners' Kent Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Tunbridge Wells
Other schools in Tunbridge Wells
Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys ranks 3rd of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Tunbridge Wells.
- Bennett Memorial Diocesan School Secondary
- Skinners' Kent Academy Secondary
- St Gregory's Catholic School Secondary
- The Skinners' School Secondary
- Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School Secondary
- Bidborough Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Broadwater Down Primary School Primary
- Claremont Primary School Primary
- Fordcombe Church of England Primary School Primary
- Frant Church of England Primary School Primary
- Groombridge St Thomas' Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys teach?
- Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Tunbridge Wells.
- Who is the headteacher of Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys?
- The headteacher of Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys is Ms Amanda Simpson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys?
- Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys has 1,875 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys full?
- Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys has capacity for 1,308 pupils and 1,875 on roll (143%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys a faith school?
- No. Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys has no designated religious character.
- Is Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys a selective school?
- Yes. Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- How have Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 60.8 in 2022/23 and 63.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys rank locally?
- Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys ranked 26th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 95% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys's absence rate?
- Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys's overall absence rate is 5.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.