Co-Education Consultation

As you will recall, we held consultations in December 2023 and January 2024 regarding the proposal for Holcombe Grammar School to become a co-educational establishment, alongside Fort Pitt Grammar School and Chatham Grammar School. We are delighted to share that the Department for Education has approved this decision, and all three schools will therefore become co-educational from September 2026.

This marks the start of an exciting new chapter in our school’s history. It will support us in transforming the lives of more young people through Mastery, Endeavour and Thinking, preparing them with the skills, tools and experiences to thrive in the modern world.

We are now carefully planning for the transition to ensure it is as smooth as possible for our entire school community. We already welcome girls into our Sixth Form and will be accepting girls into our Year 7 cohort from 2026. Pupils currently in Years 7 to 11 or due to join us in September 2025 will not be affected by this change and will join with the girls in Sixth Form as is the case currently. To make sure our pupils’ teaching and learning is not affected, Medway Council will be providing capital funding to support us to carry out any updates to the school buildings.

Holcombe’s move (and that of Fort Pitt and Chatham Grammar) to co-educational teaching will importantly balance access to grammar school education for boys and girls in the area and over time, alongside changes to the Medway Test, support more young people from Medway to attend grammar schools. This will also reduce pressure on non-selective secondary schools, ensuring that there are enough places for all Medway pupils whether or not they wish to attend a grammar school.

The transition will also mean that boys’ and girls’ places are more evenly spread across Medway and that pupils will not have to travel as far. For example, girls living nearby to Holcombe will now be able to attend our school, rather than having to travel across Medway to access a grammar education. This will minimise disruption for families, and siblings will now be able to attend the same school.

We hope you will join us in celebrating this positive outcome and we want to thank everyone who shared their views as part of the consultations and supported the school throughout this process. As you know, we are dedicated to providing an education that supports the needs of our community and your opinions were a key part of our robust and thorough decision-making process.

If you have any questions about the transition and what this means for your child, please contact office@holcombegrammar.org.uk. Thank you for your continued support of our school and the community.