ABOUT THE KENT TEST

What is the Kent Test?

The Kent Test is an examination taken at the start of Year 6, usually September, which is used for entry into Kent grammar schools in Year 7.

It is designed to be challenging – only around 25% of children each year are successful in being assessed as suitable for grammar school entry.

If you are a Kent resident, the test will take place at your child’s primary school under exam conditions, during a normal school day. The test will take place on the same day for every child living in Kent. If you live outside the Kent area, your child will sit the test at an external test centre on another date.

In 2023, the Kent test took place on Thursday 7th September for Kent residents and Saturday 9th September for children living outside of Kent. The dates for the 2024 test are not published yet but the test will take place in early September 2024.

Registration for the test usually opens at the start of June and closes at the start of July. Registration for the Kent Test for children due to start secondary school in September 2024 opened on Thursday 1st June 2023 and closed at midnight on Monday 3rd July 2023.

Parents can register their children for the Kent test via the Kent County Council (KCC) website.

The Kent Test is for entry to Kent grammar schools only. There is a separate entry process for entry to grammar schools in Medway and Bexley.

Should my child take the Kent Test?

According to KCC’s website, grammar schools in Kent provide for children in about the top 25% of the ability range. You may therefore want to discuss your child’s current academic achievement with their primary school before you decide whether to register them for the Kent Test.

We also offer a free no-obligation assessment for your child, where feedback is provided. We will discuss the available options with you to help you to come to a decision regarding Year 7 choices for your child.

What are the elements of the Kent Test?

The Kent Test is administered by GL Assessment and there are three separate assessments:

Section 1 – Reasoning. This exam is 1 hour long and is broken into three shorter sections: Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Spatial Reasoning.

Section 2: English and Mathematics. This exam is 1 hour long in total. Both the English and the maths assessments are 30 minutes’ long and include 5 minutes’ practice time.

Section 3: Writing task (40 minutes, including 10 minutes of planning time). This task is not marked and is only used by Headteachers in borderline assessment cases as part of the Headteachers’ Appeal process (see below).

Sections 1 and 2 of the Kent Test are multiple-choice examinations. Each question will have a choice of 5 possible answers (usually a, b, c, d or e). Your child will need to indicate their responses on a separate answer sheet.

Preparing for the Kent Test

The Kent exam is challenging and time pressured. For example, the maths paper requires children to answer 25 questions in 25 minutes. This requires quick calculations and a mastery of the key maths topics in the exam. Many of these maths topics are not taught in primary schools until Year 6, following the completion of the Kent Test at the start of the year. Therefore, to succeed in the Kent Test, it is vital that children are able to familiarise themselves with these topics and gain confidence in order to respond to the questions quickly and accurately.

Moreover, the reasoning element of the 11 plus is rarely taught in primary schools at all, so familiarisation with these topics and distinct practice is essential.

The key to success in the Kent Test exam is to familiarise your child with the content of the tests and the various question types they will encounter. By doing this, they will approach the exam with confidence. Your child will then know what to expect and what is expected of them in the test.

This can be achieved in a number of ways – through taking time to complete practice exercises and papers at home with your child (practice papers by GL Assessment are available to purchase online) or though expert 11 plus tuition with an outside provider, such as Advantage Tuition. As with everything in life, practice makes perfect!

What to expect on Results Day

Results are emailed to parents in October following the test the month before. There is no ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ but your child will instead be assessed as ‘suitable for grammar school’ or ‘suitable for high school’.

Your child will be given three standardised scores – one for English, one for maths and one for reasoning, and a total (aggregate) score. The ‘standardised score’ takes into account each child’s ‘raw score’ (their actual test result) and adjusts this score to take account of their age so that the youngest children taking the test are not at a disadvantage. Your child will have to meet a certain threshold for grammar school entry, with a minimum score required in each test. This will vary from year to year.

In 2023, to be given a grammar school assessment, children needed a total standardised score of 332 or more, with no single score lower than 107. Individual test scores ranged from 69 to 141. The highest possible total score was 423.

The grammar school threshold for the 2024 test will not be published until the results have been sent out, however previous thresholds provide a useful guide.

How is your child's 'suitability for grammar school' assessed?

Primary schools will receive the results for all their pupils completing the test before these results are sent to parents. Where a child narrowly misses the threshold for grammar school assessment, this decision may be reviewed by a panel of Headteachers. The test result itself will be final and cannot be appealed, however other factors may be taken in account such as the written task the child completed during the Kent Test and the quality and standard of their school work during the previous academic year. The panel will also consider any unforeseen circumstances on the test day itself, such as sickness.

Your child’s ‘suitability for grammar school’ will therefore reflect their overall test results, and will also take account of a Headteachers’ appeal if your child narrowly missed the threshold for grammar school assessment.

What happens next?

Parents can then apply to up to four named schools for Year 7 entry. These schools will then consider the results and offer places to those children who meet their admissions criteria.

As well as the Kent Test assessment, admissions criteria may be different for different schools. Popular, oversubscribed schools may require higher threshold scores, and pupils living outside the school’s usual catchment area may need a higher score than those who live within a certain distance of the school.

It is therefore important that you research the admissions criteria of each school you would like to apply to on behalf of your child.

Your child will be offered a secondary school place on National Offer Day which takes place in the March prior to Year 7 entry in September. National Offer Day for children starting Year 7 in September 2024 will be on 1 March 2024.

Appeals process

If your child has not met the threshold for grammar school assessment, you can still apply to grammar schools on their behalf. Your child will not be offered a grammar school place on National Offer Day, on the basis that they have not met the necessary criteria for grammar school entry, however it is possible to appeal directly to the school(s) who will then consider the application separately as part of their appeals process.

You will need to bear in mind that the number of places available ‘on appeal’ will vary from school to school and are likely to be very limited for popular, oversubscribed schools. Your child is more likely to be successful in gaining a grammar school place on appeal if they had been close to meeting the grammar school assessment threshold in the Kent Test. More information on secondary appeals can be found here.

Further information

Please see KCC’s website for further information. KCC also produces a Kent Test familiarisation booklet for children and parents.