Applying For The Test

Please click to view   Kent County Council information regarding the Kent Test and admission to Grammar schools in Kent.

Please note that it is the parent’s responsibility to register their child for the Kent Test if they wish to take it and apply for a secondary school.  Bourne Alliance Trust CANNOT make these applications on parents’ behalf.

Whilst we will pass on any information received from local secondary schools regarding open days or other sessions, not all secondary schools send this to us.  Parents are responsible for obtaining this information directly from the secondary schools concerned.

 

The Test

The tests are multiple-choice with a separate answer sheet. They are marked by an automated marking machine.

The first test will be an English and Maths paper and will take 1 hour. Each section will involve a 5-minute practice exercise followed by a 25-minute test. The English section will involve a comprehension exercise as well as some additional questions drawn from a set designed to test literacy skills.

The second test will be a reasoning paper. It will take about 1 hour, including the practice sections and questions. It will contain a verbal reasoning section and a non-verbal reasoning section of roughly the same length. The non-verbal reasoning will be split into short sections, administered and timed individually.

There will also be a writing exercise which will not be marked but may be used by a local headteacher panel as part of the headteacher assessment stage of the process. 40 minutes will be allowed for the writing task, including 10 minutes for  planning time.

 

The test is only valid for Kent grammar schools.

Medway Council has its own Medway Test and London Borough of Bexley has its own Bexley selection test.

 

Results Day

If you register online, you will be emailed your child’s Kent Test result after 4 pm 17th October 2024 (the delivery time will depend on your email service provider).

 

Passing the Kent Test does not guarantee your child a place in a Kent grammar school.

Make sure you know where the Kent grammar schools are, and what the admissions criteria are for the school(s) you are interested in. You can search for Kent grammar schools with our Kent Schools search.

 

If your child is disabled or has special educational needs:

If your child has a disability or special educational need that may affect the way they access the test, you need to discuss this with your current school's Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) as soon as possible. 

When you register your child for the Kent Test online, you will need to confirm if you have discussed a request for access arrangements with your child’s school.