Kent Test results 2026: scores and next steps

Kent Test results were emailed on Thursday 15 October 2026 to the address used at registration. If you did not give an email address, Kent’s published route was first-class post on results day. If yours has not arrived, you can ask your child’s primary school for the scores from Friday 16 October.^[6]

For Kent residents, the next fixed deadline is Monday 2 November 2026: submit the secondary-school application by then, even if a separate school form is still being completed.^[4]

A calm after-results checklist

1. Read all four numbers. The result has standardised scores for English, mathematics, and reasoning, plus an aggregate score. Standardisation compares a child’s performance with the rest of the cohort and includes a small adjustment for age.^[6]
2. Apply both threshold conditions. For the 2026 grammar-school assessment, Kent requires a total score of at least 345 and no individual score below 111. A total of 345 or more is not enough if one score is below 111.^[6]
3. Check each preferred school’s own rules. A suitable grammar assessment lets a Kent grammar school consider the application; it does not guarantee an offer. Read the school’s 2027 to 2028 admissions criteria and check whether it asks for a Supplementary Information Form (SIF).^{[3] [5]}
4. Submit the school application by 2 November. Kent residents can name up to four schools in preference order. Families outside Kent apply through their home local authority.^{[4] [3]}

What the scores mean

Kent reports three subject scores and a total. The reasoning score combines verbal, non-verbal, and spatial reasoning. The aggregate is the total of the English, mathematics, and reasoning scores.^[6]

These are standardised scores, not raw marks or percentages. They show how a child performed relative to the cohort, with a small age adjustment. Kent’s 2026 grammar-school threshold is a total score of at least 345, with no individual score below 111. Individual scores range from 69 to 141, so the maximum total is 423.^[6]

The test result and school application are separate

Kent residents may name up to four schools in preference order. Kent explains that naming only one school does not improve the chance of receiving that place, and no named preference is guaranteed.^[4]

Some schools also ask for a SIF. Obtain it from the school and return it directly to the school by its deadline; it does not replace the council application.^[4]

Kent’s criteria index says each school has its own oversubscription criteria and that those criteria can change yearly.^[5] Check the 2027 to 2028 criteria for every target school instead of inferring a single catchment or ranking rule from the Kent Test.

If your child was not assessed as suitable

Kent says a family can still name a grammar school on the application. If the school is refused on national offer day, 1 March 2027, the family then has a right of appeal.^[6]

That is an official route, not a prediction that an appeal will succeed. If you want to preserve that option, the practical step now is to submit the school application by 2 November and read the named school’s current criteria.

The Kent Test is valid only for Kent grammar schools. Medway and Bexley run separate tests.^[1]

Registration for this test cycle closed on 1 July. Kent tells families whose child was not registered to email kent.admissions@kent.gov.uk with the child’s name, address, date of birth, and current school for advice on next steps.^[1]

Format described by Kent County Council

The council says the papers use multiple-choice questions with a separate answer sheet and are computer-marked. The first paper combines English and Mathematics: each section has a five-minute practice exercise and a 25-minute test. The second is a roughly one-hour reasoning paper containing Verbal Reasoning and separately timed Non-Verbal Reasoning sections.^[2]

There is also a 40-minute writing exercise, including 10 minutes for planning. It is not marked, but may be used by a local headteacher panel during headteacher assessment.^[2] Use the council’s official page for the familiarisation paper and its alternative-format route; Plusling does not host or reproduce that file.

Access arrangements belonged to the registration timetable

For this cycle, Kent asked families to discuss relevant disability or special educational needs with the child’s primary-school SENCO before registration, because the school had to request any necessary access arrangements. The council said requests would not be accepted after 1 July 2026.^[1] That date must not be reused for a later cycle.

Choose practice only after checking scope

The 11+ test guidance hub explains the difference between broad provider information and local rules. The subject practice library covers English, Mathematics, Verbal Reasoning, and Non-Verbal Reasoning without claiming to reproduce the Kent Test. When you’re ready, head to the app for short, friendly daily practice across all four subjects.