Grammar School Applications
This year's pass mark for the Kent 11+ was a requirement for the child to reach an aggregate score of 360 across the three tests of VR, NVR and mathematics, with a minimum score of 117 in any one test. Although the mimimum score is up from 115 from last year, this does not mean that the assessement is harder. 21% of children in the 'selective' areas of Kent will still have passed automatically, another 4% being awarded a selective assessment after the headteacher's assessment.
Application Process for 2010 entry
Registration for the Kent Tests opens: 1 June 2009
Registration closes: 10 July 2009
Tests for children in Kent Primary Schools: 15/16 September 2009
Tests for out of county children: 19 September 2009
Assessment decision letters sent to parents: 19 October 2009 to arrive on 20 October 2009
This year parents will be able to register for the Kent Test online via www.kent.gov.uk/ola. If they register online and provide an e-mail address, they will receive their child’s assessment decision via e-mail on 19 October 2009.
You will find details of Kent Test result statistics here. Medway Test result and Review statistics, together with 2007/8 appeal outcomes are here.
- The Kent test pass mark has changed in format this year. Children are required to achieve a total aggregate score of 360 across the three tests (VR, NVR and maths) with a minimum of 114 in each test. This saw a total of 21% of Kent children being assessed grammar directly. About another 4% of Kent children will have got through on Headteacher assessment. These figures are very similar to 2008 entry. The change was to see if it would lead to a higher proportion of children in areas of "social deprivation", but enquiries I have made suggest the evidence of this is mixed.
- The number of children that passed the Kent tests this year was up by 250 on the 2008 entry figures.
- whilst 600 more children passed the Kent test, than there are Kent grammar school places, this is certainly an overestimate, as there many of these are crossborder children who will not actually be seeking places in Kent grammar schools, for a variety of reasons. However, there is no doubt that the situation will still be very tight in parts of Kent, notably Sevenoaks/Tonbridge/TW and Dartford/Gravesham. Maidstone, Canterbury and Faversham are also likely to be very tight as they were last year and children living in rural areas are most at risk here.
- A common question being asked at present is the pass mark at certain grammar schools who select the highest performing candidates. The answer is simply that this will only be determined after applications are in, according to the scores of those who actually apply. I have been told that the Headteacher of the Judd School expects the standard to fall from last year's cut off of an aggregate 411. I beg to differ and anticipate that it will rise slightly if anything, as some high scoring boys will apply who would not otherwise have considered the Judd. I am told that Dartford Grammar School is estimating a cut off point of 375 for boys outside Dartford town. Again, I guess it will be higher, considerably so in this case and would suggest the cut off may be as high as 390. Neither of these estimates should put you off applying if your son has a good score as, with four choices for Kent parents, you wil probably be able to secure a good back up if you are a Kent resident. For most Kent grammar schools, a grammar school assessment, whatever the mark, is sufficient, oversubscription being determined by distance or a similar criterion.
- Remember, if your child was absent from the Kent tests because of illness, you MUST get a doctor's certificate if they are to be given a second opportunity to take the tests.
- There are three immediate questions to ask when considering grammar school application. Why do I wish my child to go to grammar school? Is there a reasonable chance of being accepted? Will a failed grammar school application see my child go to a school I dislike? As Kent and Medway are both providing eleven plus results before you need to apply for secondary school, there is no disadvantage at all in taking the Kent and/or Medway tests
- The first of these three questions is personal and depends on circumstances in your area. A recent report by the respected National Foundation for Educational Research concludes that the main academic impact of grammar schools appears to be on those pupils who narrowly pass the test. Borderline pupils who achieve a grammar school place obtain much better results at key stage 3 than those in the same ability group who narrowly fail.
- There are 33 grammar schools in Kent, six in Medway and a further four in Bexley. The six NW Kent grammar schools now operate the normal Kent tests. None of these three LAs recognises test results of the others, so children applying for schools in two LAs will take both sets of tests. If you can reach schools in more than one local authority, look across the border between Kent and Medway or Bexley. Many West Kent parents use a comprehensive school in East Sussex as back up.
- Medway Grammar School Information is now here.
- Kent grammar schools require success in three tests: verbal reasoning, non verbal reasoning and mathematics. All are multiple choice and are set by the NFER. In addition there is an English assessment used in headteacher assessments (see below). Kent seeks to select 25% of its children for grammar school. There is a new approach to identifying the successful children this year, with an aggregate score of the three tests being used as the single pass mark, with a bottom line needed in each of the three tests. These two figures will be chosen to select 21% of children in the first instance. The ratiuonale behind this is that it is believed the previous application of a threshold which required children to achieve certain scores in each of the three tests worked against the interests of children in areas of social deprivation. Personally, I am not sure how this change will affect the results, but there has been investigation and I must presume that a higher proportion of children in those areas of “social deprivation” will now pass.
- The two Dover Grammar Schools uniquely in Kent have an additional means of entry through the Dover tests. Further details here.
- HEADTEACHER ASSESSMENT. After test results are disclosed to primary headteachers, they are entitled to submit a ‘headteachers assessment’ on behalf of strong candidates who have narrowly missed the pass mark. In such cases, a panel of headteachers, with representatives from local primary and secondary schools, consider all the relevant information before making a decision. This can include your child’s test scores, recent school work, the writing task and comments from your child’s current headteacher. The panel will expect to see a full range of work for a child, regardless of which scores may be below the threshold. The process is confidential at this point, and parents are not consulted. The target is to select a further 4%. In 2007, out of around 1200 Headteacher Appeals, some 600 were successful. I understand that the success rate in 2008 was similar. Schools have widely varying practices for the number of children they put forward, from those who submit none on principle through to those who put in too many, thought to be disadvantageous as it devalues the weight put on the headteacher's judgement.
- If the child is successful, then the decision is regarded as a pass on an equal footing with those who gained automatic selection through test results. This means that the child is found selective and this decision applies to all Kent grammar schools. Importantly, Government has confirmed that this process is an assessment, not a review. The difference in definition is important as new government legislation places severe constraints on applicants applying for a Review in authorities such as Medway (go to Review).
- PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE ARE ONLY TWO REASONS FOR TAKING THE KENT TESTS AFTER THE DUE DATE:
1) YOUR CHILD IS ILL FOR ONE OR BOTH TESTS AND THIS IS CONFIRMED BY A DOCTOR'S LETTER;
2) YOU MOVE INTO KENT AFTER 11 JULY AND BEFORE 14 DECEMBER 2009.
OTHERWISE YOU HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL MARCH 30 AND SUBMIT AN APPLICATION TO INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS WHO WILL ARRANGE TESTING.
- A total of 26% of boys and 25% of girls out of the whole cohort of children living in "selective areas of Kent" were found selective. This excludes children living in 'comprehensive' areas or outside Kent who took the tests. The proportion of children in the west of the county taking the tests is lower than in the east, whilst the proportion passing is higher.
- The following schools will offer some or all of their places to the highest scoring applicants. You need to read the oversubscription criteria to determine the rules: Dartford Grammar School, Dartford Grammar School for Girls, Gravesend Grammar School, Gravesend Grammar School for Girls, Judd School, Maidstone Grammar School, Rainham Mark Grammar School, Rochester Grammar School (Girls), Skinners School, Tonbridge Grammar school (Girls). You will not know the pass mark before applying, although there is guidance elsewhere on this website. The mark will be determined by the scores of those applying and will become public in March 2009 when decisions are announced.
- Details of Kent Test result statistics for 2010 entry are posted here. Medway Test result and Review statistics for 2009 entry are here.
Following my campaign to persuade Medway Council to open up opportunities for children to take the Medway test late, in order to qualify for nearly 100 vacant spaces at Chatham Grammar School for Boys, Chatham Grammar School for Girls and Fort Pitt Grammar School the Council confirmed in May 2009 that:
If parents wish their child to be considered for a place at a Medway Grammar school with places available, for example Chatham Grammar for Boys and Chatham Grammar for Girls, then they must have passed the Medway test. Any children due to start in year 7 this September, who have not yet taken the Medway test, can apply to our admissions team to sit the test at any point between now and early August. The last testing will take place in mid August for admission in September.
This was of interest to some of the 125 West and North West Kent children who have been allocated to distant grammar schools they have never applied to. This issue was picked up by the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, BBC South East and local newspapers. In spite of Medway Council's claim that this procedure had been in place for two years, it was a new policy decision, introduced in the middle of the admissions process, and I have concerns about how it operated. Further information here. For 2010 admissions the Medway Prospectus again makes no mention of this policy!!
Several parents have contacted me over problems with the NVR tests for some out of county candidates at Tunbridge Wells Girls Grammar School and The Judd School. Such problems have occasionally occurred at other schools and the only solution within the rules is to take the case to Independent Appeal Panel if the parent believes this is the reason a school place is not offered. In my judgment, there will be very few pupils likely to lose a place over these errors, and Appeal Panels will look sympathetically at such cases where the NVR score is significantly below the other two scores. I would be grateful to learn of any such cases after October 19th when test results are released, so that I can assess the scale of any problem.
For 2009 entry, the pass mark to Judd School was 411, and to Skinners was 405.