The Tiffin Girls' School
state_grammar · Est. 1880
Tiffin Girls' is the gold standard of state grammar education in the South West — a famously oversubscribed school on Richmond Road that has just (January 2026) become one of the first schools in England to receive 'Exceptional' across all six headline judgements under Ofsted's new framework. The school was endowed by 17th-century Kingston brewers, opened in 1880, and operates a six-house system named after past headmistresses. Girls here are self-motivated, intellectually curious, and ruthlessly supported by a teaching body Ofsted called 'expert'. Completely free, completely state-funded.
Six 'Exceptional' Ofsted judgements (Jan 2026). 95.9% GCSE grades at 9–7 and 99.9% at 9–5 (2025). Progress 8 of +1.06 — one of the highest in England. Zero fees.
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Kingston upon Thames, Surrey
Year 7 Places
180
PAN 2026/27
Tuition Fee
£0
state-funded academy
Total Pupils
1,256
incl. 372 sixth form
GCSE 9–7 (2025)
95.9%
99.9% 9–5; A8 of 85.1
A-Level A*/A (2025)
72.6%
34.0% A*; 94.2% A*–B
Ofsted (Jan 2026)
Exceptional ×6
Strong Standard on Inclusion
Best For
Highly academic, self-motivated girls who are realistically competitive at the very top end of the national ability range AND who live within the 44 postal districts of the Designated Area. Since 2014 every offer has gone to a Designated Area applicant.
Watch Out For
SIF (registration) deadline is 12 noon on the first Monday of September Year 6 — no exceptions. Girls can sit the test ONCE in their lifetime; a poor day cannot be retried. The Stage One score does NOT count toward English and is only 25% of Maths; Stage Two is the exam that decides everything.
Entry Points
- Year 7 (PAN 180 via two-stage entrance test); Year 12 Sixth Form (offers issued on GCSE Results Day, no advance applications)
The Complete Admissions Timeline
Every key date, deadline and decision point — with insider intelligence you won't find on the school website. Click any item to reveal verified insider knowledge.
The critical window: The window between Stage One results (~15 October) and Stage Two (November) is approximately 3–4 weeks. This is the critical intensive preparation period.
Registration Opens
Online registration for the Stage One test opens. Do not leave this until September — the system gets busy and there is no grace period.
Registration Closes — HARD DEADLINE
Absolutely no late registrations are accepted under any circumstances. This is the strictest registration deadline of any school in this dataset. Missing it means missing the year entirely.
CAF Deadline
Submit your Local Authority Common Application Form listing Tiffin Girls' as a preference. This is separate from the school's own registration and equally non-negotiable.
Stage One Test
Multiple-choice Maths and English, computer-marked. This is a sifting test only — the Stage One score does NOT contribute to the final offer. Only the top-scoring girls (approximately 350) are invited to Stage Two.
Stage One Results
Results communicated by approximately 15 October. Successful girls receive an invitation to Stage Two.
Stage Two Test
Hand-marked written papers: Maths (extended working) and English (comprehension + creative writing). Only girls who passed Stage One are invited. Final offers are based solely on Stage Two scores.
National Offer Day
Official school offers dispatched by Local Authority. Unlike some other grammar schools, Tiffin Girls' does NOT provide any early indication of Stage Two results. Families wait until National Offer Day.
Key Dates At-a-Glance — 2026/2027 Entry
- 1
Registration opens
June, Year 5
- 2
Registration closes (hard deadline)
Early September, Year 6
- 3
CAF deadline
Late October, Year 6
- 4
Stage One test
Early October, Year 6
- 5
Stage One results
~15 October, Year 6
- 6
Stage Two test
November, Year 6
- 7
National Offer Day
1 March
Inside the Tiffin Girls' Two-Stage Assessment
Tiffin Girls' uses a completely in-house two-stage system. Stage One (October) is a multiple-choice sifting test that does not count toward the final offer. Stage Two (November) is the exam that matters — hand-marked written papers in Maths and English. Understanding this distinction is the single most important piece of preparation intelligence.
Maths
Stage One: ~45 min (MC); Stage Two: ~60 min (written) · Stage One: multiple choice; Stage Two: extended written with working
Candidates who only practise multiple-choice Maths are unprepared for the extended written format of Stage Two. Both formats must be practised deliberately.
English
Stage One: ~45 min (MC); Stage Two: ~60 min (written) · Stage One: multiple choice comprehension; Stage Two: extended comprehension + creative writing
The Stage One English score contributes nothing to the final offer. Do not let a weaker Stage One English result discourage you — only Stage Two matters for English.
Topic Difficulty & Weight
Difficulty (%) and exam weight by topic area
Key takeaway: Stage One Maths is multiple choice — speed and accuracy, KS2 curriculum. Stage Two Maths is extended written — show your working, harder problems. The final Maths score is 25% Stage One + 75% Stage Two. Not finishing the paper is common and does not automatically disqualify a candidate.
Topic Breakdown
Known Exam Traps — Maths
Stage Two is extended written. Practise showing working clearly in both stages.
Not finishing is expected and common. Leave blank answers and move on — do not freeze.
Stage One is 25% of the final Maths score. Stage Two is 75%. Invest preparation time accordingly.
The pattern: Candidates who only practise multiple-choice Maths are unprepared for the extended written format of Stage Two. Both formats must be practised deliberately.
If you can only improve in one area, make it
Stage Two Extended Maths
What this means in practice:
Dedicate 60%+ of prep time to this area
Practice under timed conditions regularly
Review mistakes immediately after each session
Track progress weekly to spot patterns
All focus areas ranked by impact:
#1
Stage Two Extended Maths
Maths
#2
Stage Two Comprehension & Creative Writing
English
Format
Multiple choice
Duration
~45 minutes (shared with English)
Answer Method
Select one answer per question
Curriculum baseline: KS2 National Curriculum. Covers all major topics from Year 4–6. Speed and accuracy under time pressure.
Results & League Table Position
Tiffin Girls' consistently ranks among the top co-educational schools in England. These figures are benchmarked against national averages so you can see the full picture.
A-Level A* Rate
34%
Public A-Level breakdown not published.
A-Level A*/A Rate
72.6%
Use the narrative summary below.
GCSE Grade 9-7
95.9%
Public GCSE breakdown not published.
A-Level A*-B Rate
94.2%
Tiffin Girls' sits in the very top tier of the national state-school league tables and outperforms most fee-paying independents on Progress 8. Disadvantaged pupils achieve a Progress 8 of +0.46 — better than the national score for non-disadvantaged pupils (+0.17).
A-Level Results vs National Average
Tiffin Girls' vs England average (%)
What this means: 34.0% A*, 72.6% A*/A, and 94.2% A*/B at A-Level in 2025 — every band up year-on-year on the already exceptional 2024 figures. Average point score (DfE, 2023/24) of 49.94 against a national 34.38.
GCSE Grade Distribution
Tiffin Girls' vs National distribution (%)
What this means: 95.9% of GCSE grades at 9–7 in 2025, with 99.6% at 9–6 and 99.9% at 9–5. Attainment 8 of 85.1 in 2024/25 (national 45.9). Progress 8 of +1.06 (2023/24) — among the highest in England.
University Destinations
Where Tiffin Girls' leavers go — % of cohort
Notable Academic Achievements
Six 'Exceptional' Ofsted judgements (6 January 2026)
Achievement, Attendance & Behaviour, Curriculum & Teaching, Leadership & Governance, Personal Development & Wellbeing AND Post-16 Provision all rated Exceptional under Ofsted's new (Nov 2025) framework. Inclusion rated Strong Standard. Among the very first schools in England to score this clean a sweep.
Progress 8 of +1.06 (2023/24)
One of the highest Progress 8 scores in the country — and for disadvantaged pupils the figure is +0.46 (national average for non-disadvantaged is +0.17). Attainment 8 of 85.1 against a national average of 45.9.
Persistent absence under 4% (2024/25)
3.9% of pupils persistently absent in the first two terms of 2024/25, against a national average of 21.9%. Overall absence 3.3% (national 8.1%). Pupils want to be there — and largely are.
Notable alumnae across sport, screen and Westminster
Olympic medallists Sophie Bray (hockey) and Sarah Winckless (rowing); actresses Katherine Parkinson and Lisa Faulkner; Sky News presenter Sophy Ridge; author Lynne Truss; comedians Ingrid Oliver and Lorna Watson; former Imperial Tobacco CEO Alison Cooper.
League Table Position: Tiffin Girls' sits in the very top tier of the national state-school league tables and outperforms most fee-paying independents on Progress 8. Disadvantaged pupils achieve a Progress 8 of +0.46 — better than the national score for non-disadvantaged pupils (+0.17).
Interview & Assessment Day
Tiffin Girls' does not interview at any stage of Year 7 entry. Selection is entirely by ranked performance on the two-stage written test. The school does not see candidates in person until the offer is made.
Format
Not applicable — written test only
Duration
Role in Admissions
Part of a holistic assessment, not a pass/fail gate
What Makes a Strong Impression
Compiled from parent reports (2023-2025)
The pattern:
“Stage 2 is the real discriminator”
“Lot of girls get through to next round who didn't finish”
“the English mark will be based on the stage two test, and the Maths mark will be based on the stage two test and the stage one test in a ratio of 3:1”
“no homework or behaviour points for the first 4 weeks”
“her teachers have been great on the whole … lovely, interesting, supportive friends from diverse backgrounds”
“She has never done as much as 2 hours a night. That sound excessive to me.”
“Tiffin Schools are for the toughest kids. Most of the kids are tutored several times a week to survive and the pressure applied by the teachers is immense.”
“If you think your daughter might need support to just keep up e.g. SEN, I would avoid. They will get little or no support”
Contact Admissions
The Tiffin Girls' School Admissions Team
Insider Intel: What Other Parents Don't Know
These are the verified insights you will not find on the school website, in Good Schools Guide, or from any single tutoring agency. Each insight is compiled and cross-referenced from 145+ sources including official documents, parent reports, and tutoring industry data.This is the intelligence that gives ClassAce families an edge.
Stage One is a hurdle, not the exam
The Stage One score only contributes 25% of the final Maths score, and 0% of the final English score. Prepare for Stage Two as the primary assessment. If your daughter barely scrapes through Stage One but excels in Stage Two, she can still receive an offer.
Pupil Premium girls in the Designated Area get a 10% leeway — twice
Standardised mark leeway of 10% is applied to BOTH the Stage One AND Stage Two scores of Pupil Premium-eligible girls living in the Designated Area on the SIF Deadline (and to Looked After Children regardless of address). Documentary evidence MUST reach the school by the SIF Deadline — late evidence is only honoured for Stage Two and only if Stage One has already qualified the candidate.
The test can only be sat once — ever
Paragraph 2.7.2 of the admissions policy: 'Girls can only sit any part of the School's test procedure once and will not be eligible to sit the test again.' Pulling out of Stage One mid-process forfeits eligibility to any later year-group application. If your daughter is unwell or unprepared, contact admissions BEFORE the test rather than withdrawing.
There is NO sibling priority
Tiffin Girls' does not give weighting to having an older sister already at the school, or a brother at Tiffin School. The only weighting outside test performance is the LAC/Pupil Premium 10% leeway. If you've assumed a sister provides a tailwind: she does not.
Girls' Stage One English paper is bigger than the boys' version
Mumsnet 2024 parent reports cite girls having ~90 questions versus the Tiffin School (boys') ~42. The papers are NOT shared. Boys' papers are an unreliable proxy — train on past girls' practice materials and timed multiple-choice volume specifically.
Not finishing Stage One Maths is normal and expected
Multiple 2024 Mumsnet threads from parents of girls who went on to receive offers confirm that incomplete Stage One Maths papers are the norm, not the exception. Train your daughter to move on quickly when stuck — do not freeze on a single question.
The cut-off changes every year — never target a specific score
The '127' figure has circulated for years as a target score. It is a community estimate from a prior year. The actual cut-off depends entirely on how the cohort sitting that year performs. The policy explicitly defines the cut-off as 'the combined mark of the girl in the year group with the lowest score offered a place' — i.e. it's determined after the fact, not before.
Register the moment SIF opens, not the moment it closes
The Supplementary Information Form (SIF) is available on the school's website during the second half of the summer term. Deadline is 12 noon on the first Monday of September, hard. Submit in July if you can — if there's any documentation issue (LAC / Pupil Premium evidence, out-of-age-group request), you need lead time to resolve it.
Pastoral pressure is real — Ofsted noted the school addresses it actively
The Jan 2026 Ofsted called wellbeing provision 'exceptional' and noted a resilience programme covering cooking, yoga, self-defence and knitting. Mumsnet feedback from current parents is more mixed — particularly around SEN/ADHD support and exam-year mental-health pressure. Read both before deciding.
Common Mistakes Parents Make
The errors we see most often from families preparing for The Tiffin Girls' School. Avoid these and you're already ahead of the majority of applicants.
Targeting '127' as a pass mark
There is no published pass mark. The '127' figure is a community estimate from a prior year. Offers depend on the cohort's performance — the cut-off moves every year. Preparing to a specific number creates false confidence or false despair. Prepare to the highest achievable standard.
Neglecting Stage Two preparation
Stage One is a filter, not the exam. Many families focus too heavily on multiple-choice speed practice and arrive at Stage Two underprepared for extended written papers. Stage Two is 75% of the Maths final score and 100% of the English final score.
Missing the September registration deadline
No late registrations are accepted under any circumstances. This is the strictest deadline in the dataset. Families who register late discover there is genuinely no remedy — they must wait a full year.
Assuming the catchment area is flexible
The school scrutinises proof of address closely. Temporary moves to the catchment area are identified and challenged. If you do not genuinely live in the correct postcodes, do not apply.
Not planning for deposit decisions before National Offer Day
Independent schools typically require deposit decisions in January or February. Tiffin Girls' results come on 1 March. Families often face this conflict unprepared — they must accept or decline an independent school offer without knowing their Tiffin outcome.
Using Tiffin School (boys) materials as preparation
The papers for the two Tiffin schools may differ. The boys' school also shares candidates with Wilson's Grammar, meaning the pass marks differ. Do not assume identical preparation is appropriate.
Tiffin Girls' vs Competitor Schools
How does The Tiffin Girls' School compare to the schools your child is most likely also applying to? This analysis covers the key factors that actually matter to families.
Important context: Tiffin Girls' primary competitors are other selective state grammars — Nonsuch High, Wallington County Grammar School for Girls — and for families who can afford it, KGS, Surbiton High, and JAGS. The fee differential is the defining factor.
| Factor | FeaturedThe Tiffin Girls' School | Nonsuch High School | Wallington Girls' Grammar | Kingston Grammar School | Surbiton High School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School Type | State grammar | State grammar | State grammar | Independent | Independent |
| Co-educational | |||||
| VR in Exam | |||||
| Annual Fee | £0 | £0 | £0 | ~£24,300 | ~£24,300 |
| 11+ Difficulty | Extreme | Very Hard | Very Hard | Moderate | Moderate |
| Interview Style | None | None | None | 1:1 conversational | 1:1 conversational |
Why Parents Choose Tiffin Girls'
- Completely freeIndependent-level academic outcomes at zero cost. No fees, no registration fee, no deposit.
- Exceptional academic cultureNational rank 15= at GCSE. Girls are surrounded by equally motivated, high-achieving peers.
- Strong sixth formExcellent A-Level outcomes and a structured pathway to Russell Group and Oxbridge destinations.
- Genuine state school valuesNo social stratification by parental income. Diversity of backgrounds within a shared commitment to achievement.
Points to Consider
- Catchment is a hard gateIf you do not live in the correct postcodes, exam performance is irrelevant. Check the catchment boundary before investing any preparation time.
- No result before independent deadlinesOffers come on National Offer Day (1 March). Independent school deposit deadlines fall before this. You will have to decide without a Tiffin result.
- High-pressure environmentThe academic culture is demanding. The school invests in pastoral care for a reason — the bar is high and the peer group is uniformly high-achieving.
Scholarships & Financial Support
As a state school, Tiffin Girls' does not offer scholarships in the traditional sense. Financial support is provided through the Education Support Fund for families in hardship, and Pupil Premium-eligible girls receive admissions priority.
| Scholarship Type | Value | Available Places | Selection Method | Stackable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education Support Fund | Variable, up to full support | Need-based | Application to school's Education Support Fund. Targets families facing financial hardship. | No |
| Pupil Premium Priority | Priority admissions weighting | Eligible pupils | Looked After Children and Pupil Premium-eligible girls who meet minimum required marks and live in catchment receive priority. | No |
* For the Education Support Fund, contact the school directly at admissions@tiffingirls.org. All other financial considerations are moot — the education itself is free.
The Preparation Roadmap
Everything here is built around The Tiffin Girls' School's specific exam format, interview style, and selection criteria. This is not generic 11+ advice. Every recommendation is calibrated to this school.
June (Year 5)
- Register for Stage One as soon as registration opens — do not wait until September
- Assess current Maths and English level against KS2 curriculum
- Begin reading widely — challenging literary texts for comprehension depth
- Confirm you live within the catchment area BEFORE investing in preparation
Summer (Year 5 / Year 6)
- Structured KS2 Maths consolidation: all topic areas, non-calculator
- Comprehension practice: inference, HOW and WHY answers, quoting text
- Creative writing: distinctive openings, specific vocabulary, original voice
- Multiple-choice speed practice: accuracy under time pressure
September–October (Year 6)
- Final registration check — deadline is early September, no exceptions
- Stage One preparation: timed multiple-choice Maths and English under exam conditions
- Reinforce 'skip and return' strategy — do not freeze on difficult questions
- Practise Stage Two extended Maths: show working on every question
October–November (Year 6): after Stage One results
- If through to Stage Two: immediate intensive focus on extended written Maths
- English Stage Two: comprehension with full written responses, creative writing under timed conditions
- Remember: Stage Two English is the ONLY English score that counts
- Maths Stage Two score is weighted 3:1 over Stage One — this is the exam that matters
You now know things about this school most applicant families never find out.
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Intelligence Score
Updated May 2026 · 145 sources
Coverage
Measures how much of the admissions picture is directly evidenced rather than inferred from comparable schools or legacy material.
Freshness
This edition was last checked May 2026. Recency scores fall when public evidence ages or current-cycle detail is sparse.
Use it well
Treat lower-scoring areas as prompts to verify with admissions, not as automatic red flags. The score is about evidence quality, not school quality.
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