Borden Grammar School Review 2026, selective boys’ grammar with a sizeable co-educational sixth form

A selective day school with a clear academic focus and a culture shaped by its grammar entry. Borden Grammar School serves boys from Year 7 to Year 11, then becomes mixed in sixth form, which changes the feel of the community after GCSEs.

The current headteacher is Mr Ashley Tomlin, who has been in post since September 2020. The school’s Latin motto is Nitere porro (to strive forward), and it is used explicitly as a framing idea for day-to-day expectations rather than a piece of heritage branding.

This is a state-funded school with no tuition fees. The principal costs for families tend to sit around uniform, optional trips, and enrichment. A major recent practical change is the delivery of new sports and teaching space, which has added capacity and improved the day-to-day experience for sport, dining, and study.

A grammar school’s tone is often defined by two things, pace and peer group. Borden’s admissions are selective, and the school describes itself as a small, personal community. The result is a setting where students generally arrive expecting to work hard and where “being clever” is normal, not niche.

The school’s presentation of values is also unusually concrete. Rather than relying solely on generic statements about aspiration, communications routinely anchor expectations in practical habits: punctuality, preparation, respectful conduct, and sustained effort. That will suit students who like structure and clear rules. It can feel less forgiving for those who need a slower runway into secondary routines, especially early in Year 7.

Leadership stability matters for culture, and Borden has had continuity in the headship since 2020. That has coincided with a period of significant site development, including the opening of the Vafeas sports hall and teaching block, and associated upgrades to sixth form and communal spaces. For many families, that combination is reassuring: steady direction, and evidence of investment in the daily fabric of school life rather than only headline messaging.

The sixth form is a distinctive feature in its own right. It is not simply an extension of Year 11, it is a broader intake with external joins, and the school explicitly frames it as a mixed community, with a meaningful minority coming from other local schools. For some boys, that shift is a genuine reset after GCSEs, socially and academically. For others, it can mean adapting to new expectations, new teachers, and a less uniform cohort.

Borden Grammar’s outcomes are strongest when read through its relative positioning rather than a single headline statistic. On the FindMySchool GCSE ranking, the school sits above England average overall, placing it comfortably within the top 25% of secondary schools in England for GCSE outcomes. It is ranked 652nd in England and 2nd locally (Sittingbourne) for GCSEs (FindMySchool ranking based on official data).

The detailed picture is consistent with that ranking. The school’s Attainment 8 score is 63.1, and Progress 8 is +0.26, indicating students, on average, make above-average progress from their starting points. EBacc entry is clearly part of the model, and the average EBacc APS is 5.86. At the top end, 23.4% of GCSE entries achieved grades 9 to 8, and 39.0% achieved grades 9 to 7.

At A-level, performance is more middle-of-the-pack nationally, which is not unusual for schools where the sixth form includes a wider range of starting points and subjects. The school is ranked 1,048th in England and 2nd locally (Sittingbourne) for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). That places it in line with the middle 35% of sixth forms in England (25th to 60th percentile), rather than at the very top end.

Grade distributions reinforce that. 8.9% of A-level grades were A*, and 48.6% were A* to B. In England-wide context, the A* to B proportion sits slightly above the England average benchmark for this measure, while the very top grade share is more modest.

The practical implication is straightforward. For families choosing Borden primarily for GCSE outcomes and academic stretch to age 16, the evidence supports that aim. For sixth form, the more relevant question is likely fit: subject availability, teaching quality, and the student’s readiness for a mixed, broader intake.

Parents comparing options locally can use the FindMySchool Local Hub to line up Borden’s GCSE and A-level performance side by side with nearby schools using the Comparison Tool.

Borden’s academic model is built around high expectations and subject-specialist teaching. Official assessments emphasise strong relationships, calm classrooms, and staff who guide students carefully through learning, with consistent support and feedback.

Where this becomes tangible is in how the school talks about curriculum design. External review commentary notes a clear focus on reviewing and redrafting curriculum plans so that what teachers deliver is explicit by year group, and in many subjects content is sequenced carefully. That matters for families because it tends to reduce “teacher-to-teacher variance”, and it helps students who benefit from clarity and systematic building of knowledge.

The same review also points to a useful nuance: not all curriculum plans were equally precise, and leaders were tasked with tightening subject detail and improving cross-curricular links. For parents, this is a sensible “watch item”. It does not read as a school with weak teaching, rather as one where quality is strongest when subject planning is explicit and where consistency remains an active leadership priority.

In sixth form, the school participates in local partnership arrangements so students can access additional courses at Fulston Manor School and Highsted Grammar School. That is a pragmatic approach which can widen subject choice, but it also introduces logistics and time-management demands. Students considering niche A-level combinations should check whether travel between sites is required for their preferred subjects.

University and early career pathways depend heavily on individual course choices and attainment, but the published destination indicators are still helpful for setting expectations. Among the 2024 leavers cohort (109 students), 59% progressed to university, 16% entered employment, and 8% started apprenticeships.

For families weighing sixth form routes, that spread suggests Borden is not a single-track “university only” environment. University progression is the main route, but apprenticeships and employment are meaningful outcomes too, and that can suit students who want a high-achieving setting without feeling locked into one definition of success.

Oxbridge outcomes are present but small in scale, which is typical for many strong state schools outside the very highest-intensity Oxbridge pipelines. In the most recent reported measurement period, five students applied to Oxford or Cambridge and one secured a place.

The school also positions its sixth form as a community that is largely internal but with a steady flow of external joiners. It typically admits around 120 students into Year 12, and often 20 to 25 of these join from other local schools. That can be a genuine advantage: it refreshes the peer group, widens friendship circles, and can shift the academic “mix” in subjects where external applicants bring particular strengths.

For Year 7 entry, the key fact is that Borden is selective and admits through the Kent Procedure for Entrance into Secondary Education, commonly referred to as the Kent Test process. The school’s planned admissions number for September 2026 entry is 150.

A second route is important to understand properly. Borden also runs an optional Borden Assessment Procedure which is designed to give an additional opportunity for candidates who have sat the Kent Test but have not met the threshold. The school describes this as a way to reduce the stress of waiting for appeals in cases where a child is a near miss on the Kent Test but performs strongly in the additional assessment.

For September 2026 entry, Kent’s coordinated scheme sets clear key dates. Registration for the Kent grammar assessment opened on Monday 2 June 2025 and closed on Tuesday 1 July 2025, and the test dates fell on Thursday 11 September 2025 for children in Kent primary schools and over the weekend of 13 and 14 September 2025 for children not in Kent primary schools. The national closing date for secondary transfer application forms was Friday 31 October 2025, and National Offer Day was Monday 2 March 2026.

Borden’s optional assessment procedure used the same registration window (2 June to 1 July 2025) and scheduled testing for Saturday 13 September 2025.

Competition is the reality families should plan around, not just hope away. A Kent Test pass does not guarantee a grammar school place on offer day if a preferred school is oversubscribed, and allocation is then determined by oversubscription criteria. Families considering the school should use FindMySchool Map Search to check their precise distance and understand how local patterns have shifted, particularly if they are relying on a marginal position. Distances vary annually, and admissions outcomes can change year to year even in the same street.

Sixth form admissions are managed separately from Year 7 entry. Applications for Borden’s sixth form are listed as opening on 21 November 2025 and closing on 30 April 2026 for the relevant cycle, with entry requirements including at least five GCSE passes at grades 9 to 5 including English and mathematics, and typically a grade 6 in the subject a student wishes to study at A-level.

A selective environment is often judged by how it handles pressure, not whether pressure exists. The evidence from formal review commentary is reassuring on fundamentals: students report feeling safe, relationships are supportive, and behaviour is calm and respectful. Safeguarding arrangements are described as effective, and the narrative points to a staff culture that is watchful and proactive about concerns.

Support for students with special educational needs and disabilities is framed as systematic: early identification, clear information for teachers, and regular checking that strategies are working in class. For parents, that matters because grammar schools sometimes struggle with the myth that high ability removes the need for support. The school’s documentation suggests it does not buy into that myth.

Attendance and punctuality expectations are explicit. The school day starts at 8.40 and ends at 3.15, and registration routines are clearly defined. That kind of clarity tends to suit families who want firm boundaries for teenagers, but it can require a practical rethink for households managing longer commutes.

Borden’s extracurricular offer is strongest when described as a set of identifiable strands rather than a generic “lots of clubs” claim. A quick scan of the published clubs list shows a mixture of academic extension, structured support, and hobby-based communities. The presence of a Debate Club and a STEM Club is an obvious fit for a selective setting, while Dungeons & Dragons Club and Warhammer Club speak to a student culture that makes room for niche interests without embarrassment.

Supportive provision is also visible. Homework Club is not glamorous, but it can be the difference between coping and spiralling for some students, especially in Year 7 and Year 8 when organisation skills are still forming. For families who prefer a school that quietly scaffolds independence rather than assuming it arrives on day one, that matters.

Sport is a visible pillar, and recent investment underlines it. The opening of the Vafeas sports hall and teaching block is described as a significant event for the school, and communications around the project also reference associated upgrades, including changing areas, a bigger library, improved eating spaces, and additional covered outdoor areas. The implication is not just “more sport”; it is a more comfortable daily routine, less congestion, better facilities for study, and more flexibility for timetabling.

The school’s library provision is unusually well documented. The Borden Library Resource Centre is presented as a structured learning environment with extended opening hours, and it is specifically linked to William Barrow’s Charity and other donors, which connects the school’s present-day academic focus back to its local philanthropic roots.

Trips and enrichment appear regularly in school communications, including longer residential style options such as ski travel, and curriculum-linked trips such as battlefield visits. These are optional, but they are part of how the school gives academically focused students a wider reference frame for what they learn in class.

The school day runs from 8.40 to 3.15. For students who arrive early or need a quiet study base, the library operates extended hours on weekdays.

Travel and parking are explicitly managed. School guidance asks families to avoid stopping directly outside the site and references nearby alternatives for safer drop-off, with clear warnings about local pinch points such as Albany Road. For some families, this will be a quality-of-life factor, particularly in the first term of Year 7 when routines are still settling.

As a secondary school, wraparound care is not typically a core feature in the way it is for primary provision. For supervised study and structured time beyond lessons, the combination of clubs and library access is the more relevant offer, and families should check the current timetable of activities if they are relying on a regular after-school pattern.

• Selective entry pressure. The Kent Test route means most applicants will have prepared in Year 5 and Year 6, and outcomes can feel high-stakes. Families should plan for the emotional side of this as much as the academic side.

• Oversubscription realities. Passing the Kent Test does not guarantee a place at a preferred grammar school if it is oversubscribed. Allocation then depends on oversubscription criteria, and outcomes vary each year.

• Sixth form is a cultural shift. Post-16 becomes mixed and includes external entrants. This can be a significant positive, but it does change friendship groups and classroom dynamics after GCSEs.

• Facilities investment helps, but it also raises expectations. New teaching and sports space improves the daily environment, but it can also intensify the pace in areas like sport and enrichment because there is more capacity to run more things. Students who prefer a quieter profile should choose activities deliberately rather than feeling they must do everything.

Borden Grammar School is a strong selective option with clear academic intent to age 16 and a larger, mixed sixth form that broadens pathways after GCSEs. The evidence supports a culture of safety, orderly behaviour, and high expectations, reinforced by substantial recent investment in facilities.

Best suited to boys who want an academically focused peer group, are comfortable with selective-school pace, and will benefit from a structured environment with plenty of organised clubs and study spaces. The main challenge is admission, which depends on test outcomes and oversubscription criteria rather than enthusiasm alone.