Work through the four remaining checks
- Is this the right result?Confirm the test, entry year and schools covered. A pass in one area does not automatically count elsewhere.
- Is assessment complete?A first-stage pass may mean an invitation to another examination rather than final academic qualification.
- Where does the policy place your child?Identify the applicable priority group, then the score, distance or other rule used to order applicants.
- Has the school application been submitted?Name the school on your home council’s CAF and complete any required supplementary evidence.
Why a qualified child can still be refused
Suppose a fictional school has more qualified applicants than available places. It must use its published oversubscription rules to decide who has priority. A child who passes can still fall below the final allocation position.
The deciding factor might be distance or a priority area rather than the test score. At another school, scores may matter within a particular category. The school’s policy tells you which comparison is relevant.
Medway’s official results guidance explicitly says grammar assessment does not guarantee a place. Bexley distinguishes ordinary selective status from top-180 priority. These examples show why “passed the 11+” is not enough information to predict a specific offer.
Turn the pass into a school-by-school comparison
For each school you would accept, note your child’s category, how applicants are ordered, and any official previous allocation data for that category. Check the journey at school times as well.
Put schools in your genuine preference order. A grammar school lower on the CAF may not be offered if a higher school can offer, even when the child is academically qualified for both. The CAF example shows this clearly.
If the eventual offer is different
Read the refusal reason, waiting-list instructions and appeal information. Check whether the result and address were correctly recorded before assuming the test was ignored.
Accepting another offered place does not prevent you pursuing an admission appeal. Keep deadlines separate: accepting a place, joining a waiting list and submitting an appeal may each require an action. See what happens on offer day for the sequence.
A FEW MORE ANSWERS
Still wondering?
Why do more children pass than there are places?
A test can assess a larger group than the eventual applicants to each school. Some children choose other schools or areas. Qualification is therefore not a reservation of one of the places.
Does every grammar school have one pass mark?
No. Some publish a qualifying threshold, some use staged assessment, and some rank scores within different priority categories. Check the named school’s current policy.
Should we keep non-grammar schools on the CAF after a pass?
Keep realistic schools you would accept unless the relevant arrangements give certainty of an offer. A strong result alone does not establish that every preferred grammar school can offer.
Official sources
Checked 28 Sept 2026