If you’re preparing your child to sit the 11+ Kent test exam, you’ve probably got lots of questions. How do I prepare them for the test? What do I need to do before the exam? How do I register my child? The 11+ Kent Test is an exam which is used to determine whether a candidate is suitable for grammar school. The test comprises of two papers, one containing an English section and a maths section, and the other containing a verbal reasoning section and a non-verbal reasoning section (which also includes spatial reasoning questions).
How do I register my child for the 11+ Kent Test?
The 11+ Kent Test exam takes place in September when your child first starts Year 6, in order to be able to sit the test you must have registered your child with Kent County Council several months in advance.
Usually the registration window is open between June and July the year of the test. If you miss this window, unfortunately, you will not be able to register your child for the test. In this case, you would need to include the Kent grammar school/s on the application form you fill in for secondary school or contact the school directly to arrange testing for admission.
When is the 11+ Kent Test exam taken?
The 11+ Kent Test exam is taken by students in Year 6 at the beginning of the school year. The exam is usually taken in September except for in extreme circumstances.
All applicants in Kent will sit the test on the same day and the entire test will be completed within one day. Applicants from outside Kent, who will be moving to the area, will all sit their test on a separate date, usually a couple of days after Kent-based applicants.
How to answer the Kent Test?
Students sitting the 11+ Kent Test exam will be provided with two booklets. One booklet will be the testing booklet which will include all the questions. The other booklet is the answer booklet and should be filled out in relation to the testing questions. Students need to check that they have been given the correct testing and answer booklets, and that the booklets match the paper that you are expected to sit. During the test, to mark the correct answer in the answer booklet, students must draw a line through the small rectangular box, indicating their chosen answer.
Like so:
Remember, student’s answers must show correlation with the number of the correct question. You will not receive a mark for the question if your answer number doesn’t match the question number.
What is the competition like for Kent grammar schools?
Although Kent has the highest number of grammar schools for the area in England, there is always inevitable tens of thousands of applicants and only a finite number of available spaces. In other words, the competition is fierce.
This means, even with a pass, your child is not guaranteed acceptance by their chosen grammar school/s.
How is the test marked?
When the results are released, each child will receive four scores:
- English score
- Maths score
- Reasoning score (this is a combination of the verbal and non-verbal reasoning)
- Combined total score
To be given a grammar school placement, students need to meet an overall threshold as well as a minimum score for the English, maths and reasoning papers.
The overall threshold and minimum score per paper varies each year based on the performance of all applicants. In other words, if the majority of
students scored highly, the pass mark would be higher. If the majority
of students scored low, the pass mark would be lower.
Which schools in Kent require an 11+ pass?
There are currently 33 grammar schools in Kent that require applicants to have passed the 11+ Kent Test exam in order to gain admission.
These are list below in alphabetical order:
B
Barton Court Grammar School
Borden Grammar School
C
Chatham and Clarendon Grammar School
Chatham House Grammar School
Cranbrook School
D
Dane Court Grammar School
Dartford Grammar School
Dartford Grammar School for Girls
Dover Grammar School for Boys
Dover Grammar School for Girls
F
Folkestone School for Girls
G
Gravesend Grammar School
H
The Harvey Grammar School
Highsted Grammar School
Highworth Grammar School for Girls
I
Invicta Grammar School
J
The Judd School
M
Maidstone Grammar School
Maidstone Grammar School for Girls
Mayfield Grammar School
N
The Norton Knatchbull School
O
Oakwood Park Grammar School
Q
Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School
S
Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School
Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys
Sir Roger Manwood’s School
The Skinners’ School
T
Tonbridge Grammar School
Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar School
Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys
W
Weald of Kent Grammar School
Wilmington Grammar School for Boys
Wilmington Grammar School for Girls
How to prepare your child for the 11+ Kent Test
Identifying your child’s strengths and weaknesses
A crucial step in preparing your child for the eleven plus is spending some time working out what their strengths and weaknesses are. This way you can help them to achieve the best results possible in the exams. It is important to do this at an early stage so that your child can spend more time working on improving the topics that they find more difficult and less time on those that they are able to grasp quickly.
There are a few ways you can go about identifying your child’s strengths and weaknesses, but one of the best ways is to go through some practice material with them. You can compare tests and see the weaker topics that keep coming up. It is also useful at this point to simply ask your child which parts they particularly struggled with and if there is anything they are having difficulty with at school.
Mock exams and example questions
It is good practice to use mock exams in order to find out your child’s strengths and weakness. Practice papers are also useful in putting your child in the mindset of the exams. Often exams can be stressful and daunting for children of this age and it can feel that there is a lot of pressure on them to perform. Familiarising your child with the format of the papers and the timings and types of questions they may encounter will help them to feel more comfortable and reduce some of the stress.
Here at How2Become we have an extensive range of mock exams and example questions in various formats designed specifically to prepare your child for their 11+ examinations.
Help them study
In order to reduce the stress your child may be feeling, you should sit down with them whilst they’re revising and offer your on-going support. Knowing that you are there, will really help your child prepare effectively for the Kent Test.
Stay positive, and stay patient.
The testing process can be an emotionally exhausting time, your job is simply to make sure your child does the absolute best they can.
UNLOCK sample test questions, answers and
explanations for the Kent Grammar
School Test!
- ALL the insider details you and your child need to PASS the Kent Test
- Unique Kent Test English sample questions and answers
- Unique Kent Test Maths sample questions and answers
- Unique Kent Test Verbal Reasoning sample questions and answers
- Unique Kent Test Non-Verbal Reasoning sample questions and answers
- Sample Written Exercises to give your child the EDGE
- BONUS: Free 30-day trial to the 11+ Online Interactive Testing to track scores and see needed areas of improvement! (£5.95+vat per month until cancelled)
Don’t forget, we have an excellent YouTube channel with videos covering all aspects of how to prepare for the 11+ Kent Test.
