Admissions

DISTANCE AND PROOF OF ADDRESS

The distance a child lives from the school is a key determinant of the likelihood of gaining a place because distance is the most frequently applied of the five oversubscription criteria.

While some children gain admission via the sibling link or due to health reasons, the vast majority of our 203 places (commonly 217 after Appeals) in Year 7 are offered on the basis of distance.

The size of the Medway Test score is not a determining factor. It is just necessary to have passed.

As a general rule, the nearer a child lives to the school, the greater their chances of being offered a place (please see number 6 of our ‘FAQs’ section).

As a consequence, both Medway Council and the school pay particular attention to the address used on a child’s school application.
The address used on a child’s school application is important and will be used to calculate the home to school distance. The address provided by families must be the child’s main place of residence. This means they must live at this address permanently or the address of the parent where the child spends most school nights at the time of the application deadline. Families can only use one address in their application.

SJWMS has a duty to ensure school places are offered correctly and fairly, and therefore have a duty to ensure all addresses used for the purpose of allocating school places are accurate.

If an incorrect address is provided to Medway Council and a place at this school is offered to a child based on this information, the school place will be withdrawn and will be offered to another child.

Families who have been offered a school place with us will be required to provide proof of the address given on the application form. We require the following documents:

• The most recent Council Tax bill in the name of the resident parent. These are issued in April, so we require the bill for the preceding financial period, covering the month of October (the application deadline). This applies to a resident owner-occupier or a resident tenant.
• For a resident tenant, a tenancy agreement covering the month of October and at least two preceding months.
• A housing benefit entitlement letter, if the family is eligible.
• A utility bill covering the month of October and at least two preceding months. This applies to a resident owner-occupier or a resident tenant.

Where families cannot produce these proof of address documents, we will refer the matter to Medway Council for investigation.

If a child’s stated home address at the time of enrolment is different from that used on the application form then further checks will be carried out and we will also refer this to Medway Council.

Those who think someone has provided incorrect information on their school application are asked to email admissions@medway.gov.uk to tell them. They will treat your email in confidence and keep your personal information private. They will not be able to tell you the outcome of any investigation.

FAQs

The method to apply for a place at this school during the academic year is the casual admission process.

Please complete the admission form online by following the link below.  Please refer to our admissions determination policy before completing this form.

All year groups at The Math are currently over our PAN (Planned Admission Number), so it is rare that a space is available when an in-year application is made. Subsequently, applications are usually rejected on the basis that the year group is full, even when a student meets the selective standard of the school.

For Years 7-11 – in year admissions can be made by completing the above application form. Please do not send the application form until you and your son are resident in the UK.

When the application is made and processed, the student will be invited to sit a test of academic ability. The test consists of four electronic CAT tests (cognitive ability tests) which require no prior revision, and consists of quantitative, verbal reasoning, non verbal reasoning and spatial. In order to meet the entry standard for Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School we would expect the tests to demonstrate and student’s performance equates to performance of students already at the school, this minimum level of attainment, therefore, is set to; 

• ST score for all four disciplines tested is between 7 and 9.
• NPR in all four disciplines tested is above 80. 

The ST and NPR scores are methods for the school to determine the level of achievement for the student in the test. They can each be defined as;

• The Stanine (ST) places the student’s score on a scale of 1 (low) to 9 (high) and offers a broad overview of his performance. 
• The National Percentile Rank (NPR) relates to the SAS and indicates the percentage of students obtaining any particular score. NPR of 50 is average. NPR of 5 means that the student’s score is within the lowest 5% of the national sample; NPR of 95 means that the student’s score is within the highest 5% of the national sample.

We have set the attainment level at 80, meaning a student’s score is within the highest 20% of the national sample. The Medway Test pass mark is set at 23% of the Year 6 cohort in Medway primary schools.  

Please note that if your son has already been deemed selective by Medway Council, the result is valid for 12 calendar months. If your son reaches the required academic standard and if a place is available in the year group, a place will be offered. Parents will be notified of the outcome of a casual admission no more than 15 days from receipt of the application form.

If an offer is not given (including Sixth Form places), due to the school being oversubscribed or your son/daughter not reaching the required academic standard, you will be able to appeal. To request an admission appeal please consult the Appeals pages of this website.

Please note that, as set out in the School Admission Appeal Code 2022, section 5, para 5.1, parents can only appeal once for a place in the same school in the same academic year.

This school is currently oversubscribed in all year groups.

From September 2026 the school will administer a waiting list for in-year admissions.

APPEALS

Year 6 to 7 secondary transfer appeals

PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY.

If you have not been offered a place at Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School, the law entitles you to appeal against that decision to an Independent Appeal Panel. This panel is completely independent of the school and the Local Authority. All appeals will be heard online which has the advantage that your appeal can be heard from your home or place of work.

If you wish to appeal, please use this link to complete your appeal online. Please do NOT use ANY other appeal form or send your form to your local authority. It is suggested that you download the explanatory booklet about appeals which you should read before you complete the appeal form.

Booklet Link

You should include any evidence or supporting material with your appeal form and you MUST give the grounds for your appeal at the time you lodge your appeal form. Your appeal form will not be accepted unless you state the grounds for your appeal. You may appeal for more than one school, but on different forms.

Examples of schoolwork your child may have undertaken will not be accepted. The appeals code is clear that the panel cannot assess a child. The Panel would not be able to make a proper judgement about its quality. They would have nothing to measure it against and would not know the depth of the work submitted. Also, they would not know whether the work had been carried out unaided. The panel will give due weighting to academic letters from professionals such as, headteachers, teachers and tutors, plus CAT or NFER test reports.

Any letters or reports that you wish the panel to see should be uploaded at this time. You are asked to bear in mind that if you later send additional information, the closing date is 12 noon, 5 working days before the STAGE 1 hearing. All appointed panels have agreed NOT to take any late letters or reports after the 5 working day deadline. This will be strictly enforced. For secondary/primary transfer appeals, the hearing will take place at least TWO months after the refusal letter. This gives you plenty of time to get your evidence together if you act early and take account of school holidays.

Please note that the online form will ask you to download two utility bills dated in the last THREE months. If you do not have access to a scanner, please take two photographs with a mobile phone and upload the photographic files.

Full details about the hearing will be sent to you with your invitation to the hearing.

If you wish to contact the clerk – email: clerk@educationappeals.com

The timetable for appeals is as follows

Timetable for appeals for mid-term applications is as follows

Timetable for Sixth Form Appeals

Please email clerk@educationappeals.com with all queries regarding appeals

11+ PREPARATION WITH ATOM LEARNING

Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School provides exceptional opportunities for individual development and our aim is to support pupils to achieve the best possible academic outcomes regardless of background.

As part of our continuing provision for disadvantaged pupils we are working with Atom Learning, the leading online Key Stage 2 learning and 11+ preparation platform, to provide students who are eligible for Pupil Premium with free access to a range of fun and engaging materials to help them progress during Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 (specifically ages 7-11). 

The programme is designed to benefit all participants, whatever their current attainment level, but it may be helpful in familiarising children with the type of questions they may see on the 11+ papers by building exam technique and confidence. They’ll be able to access learning resources, practice papers and test materials through their Atom Home account.

If your child has been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years, they will be given entirely free access to Atom Home. Your child’s primary school will be required to provide proof of eligibility for Pupil Premium as part of this process.

To register please click on the link below:

Once your Pupil Premium status has been verified by your primary school an account with Atom Home will be set up for you.

You do not need to be planning to apply to SJWMS to be eligible and the materials are equally available to both boys and girls.

While the resources do include some mock 11+ style tests, they are focussed on the acquisition of knowledge and skills which are applicable for all children.