Kent 11 Plus
Kent is the largest remaining grammar school area in the country, with 35 wholly selective grammar schools and four partially selective schools.
The Dover Grammar schools have their own test (the Dover Test) and The Folkestone School also has it’s own test (the Shepway test). Tests are in Verbal Reasoning and Non-verbal Reasoning and tests in KS2 National Curriculum Maths and English. These schools also accept applicants who pass the Kent test. It is not necessary to pass both. The Folkestone School for Girls tends to be under-subscribed and a large proportion of their intake are from appeals.
Parents in Kent face a considerable challenge when completing their CAF (Common Application Form). The Admissions Criteria for schools differ for almost every school in the County and must be studied extremely carefully by prospective parents.
Some schools known as the “super-selectives” allocate places by score, but there may be geographic limits imposed as well. Other schools use distance or parish boundaries as the main criterion for admission. Schools that do not use score to allocate places may have rules about siblings taking priority. (It is illegal under the school Admissions Code to use score to allocate places and give priority to siblings.)
In previous years, the Kent and Medway test results were transferable. Candidates only had to sit one test even if they were applying to schools in the two counties. The tests now are kept separate.
Mayfield Grammar School admits girls through the Mayfield procedure where girls have been unsuccessful in the Kent testing procedure. If parents wish their daughter to take the Mayfield tests in addition to the Kent test they will need to obtain a registration form directly from the school.
The assessment tests will compromise of:
- a computer based test which will assess verbal ability, numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning; and
- an English paper to assess reading and writing skills (not computer based and not multiple choice).
Full details of the admissions criteria for all Kent schools can be found on the Kent County Council website.
Forum discussions about this region can be found here.
Recommended Practice Materials for Kent
Book suggestions coming soon.
Kent Schools
Find out more about the schools in Kent
For entry in 2024
The Schools Admissions Code, that came into effect in 2012, stated that by law, schools must take all reasonable steps to inform parents of the outcome of tests before the closing deadline for the Common Application form (CAF) on October 31st.
Kent is the largest remaining grammar school area in the country, with 35 wholly selective grammar schools and four partially selective schools.
The Dover Grammar schools have their own test (the Dover Test) and The Folkestone School also has it’s own test (the Shepway test). Tests are in Verbal Reasoning and Non-verbal Reasoning and tests in KS2 National Curriculum Maths and English. These schools also accept applicants who pass the Kent test. It is not necessary to pass both. The Folkestone School for Girls tends to be under-subscribed and a large proportion of their intake are from appeals.
Parents in Kent face a considerable challenge when completing their CAF (Common Application Form). The Admissions Criteria for schools differ for almost every school in the County and must be studied extremely carefully by prospective parents.
Some schools known as the “super-selectives” allocate places by score, but there may be geographic limits imposed as well. Other schools use distance or parish boundaries as the main criterion for admission. Schools that do not use score to allocate places may have rules about siblings taking priority. (It is illegal under the school Admissions Code to use score to allocate places and give priority to siblings.)
In previous years, the Kent and Medway test results were transferable. Candidates only had to sit one test even if they were applying to schools in the two counties. The tests now are kept separate.
Mayfield Grammar School admits girls through the Mayfield procedure where girls have been unsuccessful in the Kent testing procedure. If parents wish their daughter to take the Mayfield tests in addition to the Kent test they will need to obtain a registration form directly from the school.
The assessment tests will compromise of:
- a computer based test which will assess verbal ability, numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning; and
- an English paper to assess reading and writing skills (not computer based and not multiple choice).
Full details of the admissions criteria for all Kent schools can be found on the Kent County Council website.
We strongly recommend that, once you have a shortlist of your preferred schools, you research very carefully whether your child would have gained admission in previous years. Either Kent Admissions or the individual schools may be able to provide you with further information if you are unsure. Even that is no guarantee of future success, but it should at least ensure that your school choices are as realistic as possible.
Admissions Information for September 2024
| CLOSING DATE FOR TEST APPLICATION | Registration opens June 2023 (TBC) Registration closes July 2023 (TBC) |
|---|---|
| CLOSING DATE FOR COMMON APPLICATION FORM | 31st October 2023 |
| 11+ TEST DATES | For Kent Primary school pupils September 2023 (TBC) For Primary school pupils outside Kent September 2023 (TBC) |
| TEST TYPES | The Kent test involves 2 papers multiple choice format, with a separate answer sheet. The first test will be an English and Maths paper, 1 hour long split into two sections. The first section is English and the second section is Maths. Each section has a 5 minute practice exercise and 25 minute test. The English section will involve a comprehension exercise and additional questions to test literacy skills. For example, questions containing a sentence with a word missing or questions asking you to spot the mistake in a sentence. The maths test will contain questions covering topics that are in the Year 6 curriculum. Second test is a reasoning paper which has three sections; verbal reasoning (ability to think using words and symbols non-verbal reasoning (the ability to think about the relationship between shapes and patterns. spatial reasoning (how well you can manipulate shapes and space in your head) The verbal reasoning section consists of a 10 minute practice test and 20 minutes test. The non-verbal and spatial reasoning sections are divided into smaller timed subtests taking 4-5 minutes each Writing exercise of 40 minutes which includes 10 minutes of planning time. This will only be marked when looking at borderline cases, appeal. Kent Familiarisation booklet |
| TEST FORMAT | Multiple Choice |
| EXAMINERS | GL Assessment |
| 11+ TEST RESULTS | October 2023 (TBC) |
| PASS MARK | Children receive 3 standardised score, one for English, one for Maths and one for reasoning. The threshold for the total score is 320, with no single score lower than 106. The lowest possible score in each test is 69 and the highest is 141. The highest possible total score is 423 Latest Kent Test scores reports |
| ALLOCATIONS | 1st March 2024 (emails from 4pm, letters posted first class) |
| APPEALS | You cannot appeal against a Kent Test result, only against a decision not to be awarded a grammar school place. Kent Appeals |
| ADMISSIONS | Kent County Council |
| RECOMMENDED PRACTICE MATERIALS | Verbal Reasoning Non-verbal Reasoning Mathematics English |
Kent Raw Scores in 2010
Our thanks go to our 11+ Forum member “committed” for making a Freedom of Information request to Kent County Council to obtain the following information.
The table below shows the raw score (i.e. number of questions) a child needed to answer on the 2010 papers in order to achieve a final standardised score of either 120 or 140, depending on their age at the time of testing. The numbers will vary by a few percentage points each year, and they are therefore only a rough guideline.
| AGE AT TIME OF TESTING: | 10 years old | 10 years 6 months | 11 years old | 10 years old | 10 years 6 months | 11 years old |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TO ACHIEVE A SCORE OF: | 120 | 120 | 120 | 140 | 140 | 140 |
| VERBAL REASONING | 36/80 (45%) | 39/80 (49%) | 42/80 (53%) | 58/80 (73%) | 61/80 (76%) | 63/80 (79%) |
| NON-VERBAL REASONING | 35/72 (49%) | 37/72 (51%) | 38/72 (53%) | 48/72 (67%) | 49/72 (68%) | 50/72 (69% |
| MATHS | 24/50 (48%) | 26/50 (52%) | 27/50 (54%) | 38/50 (76%) | 39/50 (78%) | 40/50 (80%) |
The Kent Appeals System
Kent is unusual in operating a system of “Head teacher reviews”. A review can be submitted if a child has not qualified on score but was close to the pass mark or the Head teacher believes that the result was not representative of the child’s ability. The reviews take place before parents receive their child’s results.
The Head will submit a short report and samples of work which are then reviewed by a panel consisting of Primary and Secondary Head teachers or Deputy Heads. The review may result in the 11+ score being overturned and the child being deemed qualified.
If your child does not qualify, the Head does not seek a review or if the review is unsuccessful you still have the right to have your child’s case heard by an Independent Appeals Panel.
It is important that Kent parents who are also applying for grammar school places for their child at schools in Medway realise that the Review systems in Kent and Medway are entirely different. A failed review in Kent does not preclude you from asking for a full hearing in front of an Independent Appeal Panel, and submitting any evidence you wish to. In Medway the evidence you can present to a panel after a failed review is very much more limited.
For advice on how to prepare for an appeal please look at our Appeals Q&As
Kent Appeals outcomes
| 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APPEALS HELD | NUMBER | % UPHELD | NUMBER | % UPHELD | NUMBER | % UPHELD |
| Kent Non-selective | 425 | 41% | 484 | 30% | 335 | 33% |
| Kent Grammar | 1756 | 34% | 1587 | 37% | 1667 | 42% |
Kent Grammar School Information
Open Day information for Kent schools can be viewed on the Kent County Council website. Some dates are shown below:
Partially Selective Schools in Kent
| SCHOOL | GENDER | PLACES |
|---|---|---|
| Archbishop’s School (Canterbury) | Mixed | Selects 15% of pupils on general ability |
| Homewood School | Mixed | 390 places in Year 7. Selects 20% of pupils (78 places) on general ability and 10% on musical aptitude. |
| Westlands School (Sittingbourne) | Mixed | 285 places in Year 7. Selects 10% of pupils (29 places) on mathematical aptitude. |
For further information about Kent Grammar Schools and to have your questions answered please visit the Kent section of our 11+ Forum .
If you are able to contribute further information to this page (and we are always grateful for contributions from those with local knowledge), please contact us.
Information on this page was believed to be correct at the time of writing, but we would not necessarily be aware of subsequent changes unless someone brings them to our attention.
Before acting on any information given here, please verify that it is up to date.
Kent Schools
Review detailed information about schools in Kent.
Warning: Undefined variable $schoolcount in /nas/content/live/elevenplusexam/wp-content/themes/elevenplusexams/blocks/school-columns/school-columns.php on line 54
