Kent Test for Entry in September 2020: Further Analysis

You will find the parallel Medway Test article here. 

This article follows on from my previous: Kent Test 2019; Initial Results and Comment, published in October. The main change since last year is that that the marks required for a pass in the Test have been raised, requiring candidates to score 110 marks on each of the three sections - English, mathematics, and reasoning – along with an aggregate score across the three sections of at least 330 . Please note that the change remains as always to simply aim for 21% of the age cohort in Kent schools to be successful. In no way does it suggest the Test was more difficult so any attempt to argue this at an appeal for a grammar school place will be unsuccessful. 

The pass mark is sufficient for entrance to the majority of Kent grammar schools, apart from seven that require higher marks for all or most of their entrants. The required marks for the latter vary according to demand each year, and are reported  will be reported next week in my initial secondary allocations article.  Further places are awarded at the six schools which run local tests and can also be awarded to individual schools by the appeal process. My article on Appeals reports on 2019 outcomes, alongside the Individual Schools section which gives 2019 appeal data for every secondary school that held appeals.  

The table below shows the pattern of success in the Kent Test and by HTA across Kent’s 14 Districts, for children in state schools, as well as highlighting variation in the success rate of boys and girls.  

 It is unsurprising to see to see Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells children at the top of the table, Canterbury being in fourth place by virtue of its traditional high proportion of HTA places.  Other than that, the only surprising outcome, outside socio-economic links to position in the tables, is Dartford with its strong proportion of high performing state primary schools.

At the foot of the table (leaving out Ashford for the moment) come Dover, Folkestone & Hythe, Gravesham and Swale. The alternative locals test for the Dover and Folkestone grammar schools, together with Highsted Grammar in Sittingbourne and Mayfield Grammar n Gravesham (both girls) will have considerably inflated the figures of children in these Districts found suitable for grammar school.

This year 10.8% of all Kent automatic passes have gone to children in the private sector, down again from the previous three years, but just 4.7% of the upheld HTAs, resulting in overall 9.2% of selective assessments for Kent children being for those at private schools. The data calculations can only consider those children who took the Test, so the total numbers in each school year group for private schools are not known. However, a considerable proportion of these successes will not take up grammar school places, preferring to remain private.

Local Tests

Apart from The Harvey Grammar School and Folkestone School for Girls, which offer the same test, each sets its own test, along with the  pass standard. Both the Folkestone and Dover Tests take place on the same day, inhibiting dual applications.  

Three of the schools offered over half of their places in 2019 to children who did not qualified by the Kent selection process. For the Dover and Folkestone schools, and Folkestone Girls, the Local Test mops up  the large majority of successful entrants, with appeal rates low, but the high proportion of Highsted admission appeals upheld takes the proportion of girls offered places at the school, who have not qualified by the Kent process to over 50%  

Recent changes in admission policy at the two Wilmington Grammars and the Judd and Skinner’s super selective grammars to favour Kent children is further inhibiting supply of places for out of county children, but certainly not demand. For 2019 admissions, of the 3065 (2735 in 2017) ooc Kent Test passes in October 2018, just 399 children (down from 454 in 2017) were offered grammar places in March last year, over half at the four Dartford and Wilmington grammars, with this number likely to have fallen further before entry in September.

Of course this large proportion of speculative test sittings, in some cases merely provides free practice for grammar schools in other parts of the country for many as can be seen by the high number of enquiries on 11 plus forums from parents in possession of a selective assessment for their child. Many of these don’t even know where the Kent grammar schools are! But of course, it is not free for Kent taxpayers, as the costs of administration, materials and provision of test venues falls on them. Sadly, there appears no way of recovering the costs, which surely run into tens of thousands of pounds, from those parents who have no Kent connections.