How to PASS the 11+ Kent TEST: English

At the end of year 6, students will be entering the secondary school phase. Each student will need to apply for a state school, whether that being:

• A Community School;
• A Foundation School;
• An Academy;
• A Grammar School.

If your child wishes to apply to a grammar school in Kent, they will be expected to sit the Kent Test. This test will assess whether or not that student is ‘suitable’ for a placement in a grammar school.

As the name suggests, this form of the 11+ is only applicable to grammar schools located in Kent. Grammar schools outside of Kent would not require students to undertake this assessment, and may have assessments or criteria of their own.

In order for your child to pass this exam, they must meet the following requirements:

• A score of 320 or more is needed to be considered for a grammar school placement;
• For each part of the test, English, Maths, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning, a student must score 106 or more in each part if they wish to be considered for a grammar school placement.

As mentioned, the test will assess particular skills and knowledge required to obtain a Kent grammar school placement.

During the test, your child will undergo two different papers. The first paper will consist of English and Maths, and they will have 1 hour to complete the paper.

The second paper will be a Reasoning assessment, and will assess your child’s understanding on Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning. They will have 1 hour to complete the paper.

A written exercise is also given, but is not marked. Instead, this may be used by a panel of head teachers to analyse test scores.

Determine whether the following sentences are written in past, present or future tenses.

I ran to the park. _______________

I am running. _______________

I am going to run to the park. _______________

Susie had gone for a shower. _______________

Complete these words by adding the suffixes ite or ight.

Appet____ Compos_____ Overs_____ Handwr_______

Del____ Exquis_____ Twil_____ We_____

Underline the correct homophones for the following sentences.

After school, she wanted to (prey, pray) at her local church.

It was all (two, to, too) much for her.

On their wild adventures, they ran into a (bear, bare).

Which sentence has the correct punctuation?

A – My dog barks all, the time.

B – My mums dad is named steve.

C – “That was unacceptable behaviour” said Kim’s teacher.

D – it’s there fault.

Choose a word that relates to both sets of words in the brackets.

(rest, interval) (damage, smash)

Read the following passage, and answer the following questions

It’s been 11 months and 14 days since my carefully constructed world came crashing down into a thousand little pieces. My life was torn to merciless shreds, just like the car that my mother and I were in.

Little did I know how one moment can change your life forever. I thought I had so much time to make memories with the one person that I relied upon most. I have been forlorn and melancholy for almost a year now, and I am struggling to grasp the concept of ‘it gets easier with time’. That to me seems unimaginable.

I remember the sharp sounds of the brakes. I remember the moment our car collided with a patch of glistening ice that covered the country roads. I try to recall the impact, but my mind goes blank. It is like a hole in my memory. My life is in 1000 jigsaw pieces, which I cannot piece back together.

a) Which of the following reasons best describes why the passage is written in first person?

A – The reader wants to put their views across.

B – It’s an account of the author’s experience.

C – It is an account of events, creating an emotional relationship with its readers.

D – Provide a sense of belonging and reassurance.

b) “My life was torn to merciless shreds, just like the car that my mother and I were in” (line 2/3). What literary technique is used in this sentence?

A – Metaphor

B – Paradox

C – Juxtaposition

D – Simile

Q1. Past, present, future, past

EXPLANATION = I ran to the shop – this is past tense because it has already happened.

I am running – this is present tense because it is happening now.

I am going to run to the shop – this is future tense because it is going to happen later, so therefore it’s not happening now, and it hasn’t happened yet.

Susie had gone for a shower – this is past tense because it has already happened.

Q2. Appetite, composite, oversight, handwrite, delight, exquisite, twilight, weight.

Q3. (pray), (too), (bear)

EXPLANATION = after school, she wanted to pray at her local church.

It was all too much for her.

On their wild adventures, they ran into a bear.

Q4. C = “That was unacceptable behaviour” said Kim’s teacher.

EXPLANATION = the first part of the sentence is being said, so therefore it needs speech marks. The first letter of the first word needs be capitalised. The fact that it is Kim’s teacher, means that there needs to be an apostrophe in the word ‘Kim’s’. A full stop is needed to complete the sentence.

Q5. D = break

EXPLANATION = break can mean ‘taking a break’ i.e. a rest or interval. It can also mean to ‘break something’ i.e. to ‘damage’ or ‘smash’ something.

Q6. a) C = It is an account of events, creating an emotional directness with its readers.

EXPLANATION = first person narration is often used to create an emotional response with its readers, which draws them into a specific voice or personal situation.

Q6. b) D = simile

EXPLANATION = “my life torn to merciless shreds, just like the car that my mother and I were in” is a simile. The use of the word ‘like’ demonstrates that it is a simile, because it compares the similarities of two very different things.