England · Grammar school
Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School
Rochester · Boys only · ages 11 to 18
Official record: Get Information About Schools (URN 136662)
Overview
- Address
- Maidstone Road, Rochester, Kent, ME1 3EL
- Status
- Open
- Admits
- Boys only
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Number of pupils
- 1,555
- Capacity
- 1,280
- Eligible for free school meals
- 11.7%
- Sixth form
- Yes
- School type
- Academy converter
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- LEIGH ACADEMIES TRUST
- Local authority
- Medway
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026 · Source: Desk research (cited public sources) (get-information-schools.service.gov.uk), last checked 31 October 2026
Admissions and the 11+
- Admissions policy
- Selective (grammar school)
- Selection in this area
- Fully selective area30% of Year 7 places offered in Medway for September 2026 were at selective schools (DfE applications and offers). We class an area as fully selective at 25% or more. Confirm with the local authority's admissions guide.
- Entrance test
- Medway Test
- Qualifying score
- minimum score 482 to be assessed suitable for grammar (492 the year before) (2025 entry)
- Catchment area
- Not yet available
- Children from outside the catchment
- Not yet available
Applications and offers for Year 7
For September 2026 entry, 740 applicants named this school (336 as their first choice) for 201 places. 7 of 201 offers went to children living outside Medway.
| Intake | Places offered | Applicants | First choice | First choices per place | Offers to children outside Medway |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | 201 | 740 | 336 | 1.7 | 7 |
| Sept 2025 | 232 | 786 | 397 | 1.7 | 7 |
| Sept 2024 | 203 | 667 | 325 | 1.6 | 16 |
| Sept 2023 | 201 | 660 | 331 | 1.6 | 11 |
| Sept 2022 | 203 | 643 | 258 | 1.3 | 16 |
Show all 13 years
| Intake | Places offered | Applicants | First choice | First choices per place | Offers to children outside Medway |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2021 | 200 | 765 | 347 | 1.7 | 18 |
| Sept 2020 | 203 | 658 | 326 | 1.6 | 11 |
| Sept 2019 | 202 | 610 | 302 | 1.5 | 15 |
| Sept 2018 | 203 | 546 | 275 | 1.4 | 19 |
| Sept 2017 | 201 | 542 | 271 | 1.3 | 15 |
| Sept 2016 | 186 | 476 | 246 | 1.3 | 20 |
| Sept 2015 | 168 | 476 | 217 | 1.3 | 16 |
| Sept 2014 | 168 | 514 | 249 | 1.5 | 13 |
"Applicants" counts every family that listed the school as any preference, so it is higher than the number competing for each place. "Outside Medway" means a home in another local authority; it is not the school's catchment area. For grammar schools, offers also depend on the entrance test result.
Source: Secondary and primary school applications and offers (Department for Education), last checked 31 October 2026
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026 · Source: Admissions research (cited public sources) (medway.gov.uk), last checked 1 November 2026
Key dates for September 2027 entry
- Test registration (Medway Test)
- 18 May 2026 to 12 June 2026
- Test date
- 15 September 2026, 16 September 2026, 19 September 2026, 20 September 202615-16 Sep for Medway primary pupils; 19 or 20 Sep for pupils from other schools at allocated centre. Registration opens 9am. Test and results dates from tuition guides, not confirmed on council page.
- Results sent to families
- 14 October 2026
- Apply to your council (September 2027 entry)
- By 31 October 2026This date has passed: late applications go to your council and are usually considered after on-time ones.
- National offer day
- 1 March 2027Offers are sent on 1 March, or the next working day.
- Open days
- Not yet available
- School opened (current registration)
- 1 April 2011
Unverified: test dates come from desk research (medium confidence). Confirm them with the council or test organiser. Sources: medway.gov.uk, atomlearning.com.
Statutory dates: School Admissions Code (Department for Education).
Guide to the Medway Test and its schools · How applying works
Source: Test dates research (cited public sources) (medway.gov.uk), last checked 1 November 2026 · Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026
Ofsted inspection
Inspected on 21 March 2023: overall Outstanding. Read the report ↗
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form provision
- Outstanding
Inspection history (2)
Source: Ofsted inspection reports, last checked 31 October 2026
Exam results
GCSE results 2025/26 (provisional)
| Measure | This school | Selective schools in England | All state schools in England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8Average grade across 8 GCSE-level subjects, doubled for English and maths (maximum 90). | 69.9 | 72.1 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 96.3% | 93.7% | 46.3% |
| Grade 7 or above in English and maths | 55.6% | 57.7% | 14.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 99.5% | 98.3% | 64.8% |
| Progress 8Not published for most schools in recent years, because primary school tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021. | – | – | – |
Attainment 8 over time: 70.3 (2023/24) → 69.5 (2024/25) → 69.9 (2025/26).
214 pupils took GCSEs. Results reflect a selective intake: compare grammar schools with each other rather than with all schools.
Source: Key stage 4 performance (GCSE results) (Department for Education), last checked 31 October 2026
How to get there
- Postcode
- ME1 3EL
- Map location
- 51.37026, 0.49865
- Open in OpenStreetMap
- Directions and surroundings ↗
- Telephone
- 01634844008
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026
Official links and documents
- School website
- www.sjwms.org.uk
- Official register record
- Get Information About Schools (URN 136662) ↗
- Admissions policy document
- Not yet available
- Further reading
- Wikipedia ↗
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026