Wilmington Grammar School for Boys

If your son would settle best somewhere friendly and down-to-earth rather than highly pressured, Wilmington describes itself as a warm, aspirational school where boys feel happy and safe, and that is the feel parents tend to find when they visit. Day-to-day life is shaped by a shared set of values the school calls PRIDE: personal excellence, respect, innovation, determination and equality. Staff lean on these to guide boys through their time at the school, so a boy always knows what is expected of him and why.

The grammar sits in Wilmington, near Dartford, and its history runs back to its days as Dartford Technical High School in the 1950s. The present boys' grammar took shape in the mid-1980s when the site was reorganised, and it now teaches boys from 11 to 16 within the Endeavour Multi-Academy Trust. Older boys move into a co-educational sixth form shared with the neighbouring girls' grammar, which gives them a wider, mixed setting for their A-level years. The school is one of a small, established cluster of Wilmington schools, and that gives it a settled local character and a real sense of community.

Wilmington suits a boy who will do well in a grounded, community-minded grammar with clear values and a supportive feel. It will appeal to a family wanting a selective state setting with a shared co-ed sixth form close to Dartford. Above all it suits a boy who will grow up steady and quietly confident among people who take the trouble to know him well.