Registration
Not yet published
Early June to 1 July in each of the last three years
Test day
Not yet published
A Thursday in the second week of September since 2024
Results
Not yet published
Mid-October: 15 Oct 2026, 16 Oct 2025, 17 Oct 2024
Pass mark
Set on results day
345 for the test sat in 2026; 332 in the four before
“Kent Test 2027” means two things this autumn. For a child in Year 5 it is the next test, sat in September 2027 for a secondary school place in September 2028. For a child in Year 6 it is the round just decided: the test sat in September 2026, whose results are on the Kent Test 2026 results page, for September 2027 entry. Both are on this page.
Dates for the test sat in September 2027
For children in Year 5 now, who start secondary school in September 2028. Kent County Council sets the dates each year.
- Parents register in the summer term of Year 5. Children sit the Kent Test at the start of Year 6, for a secondary school place the following September.
- Kent County Council had not published the registration or test dates for the next round (September 2028 entry) when this page was checked. The table shows when they fell in the last three years.
- Kent County Council suggests talking to your child’s primary school about how they are doing before you decide whether to register.
Kent Test dates in the last three years
| Test year | For entry | Registration | Test day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Sept 2027 | 1 June to 1 July | 10 September |
| 2025 | Sept 2026 | 2 June to 1 July | 11 September |
| 2024 | Sept 2025 | 3 June to 1 July | 12 September |
Each row is one round, and registration and the test day both fall in its test year. The test day is the Thursday on which Kent primary schools sat the test; children at other schools sat it on the Saturday or weekend that followed. Results came on Thursday 15 October 2026, Thursday 16 October 2025 and Thursday 17 October 2024. Past dates are a guide, not a promise: Kent County Council sets the dates each year.
Registering for the Kent Test
How registration works, from the last round. The same steps are expected again.
- Parents register their child with Kent County Council. For the test sat in September 2026, registration opened on Monday 1 June 2026 and closed on Wednesday 1 July 2026.
- Most Kent children sit the test in their own primary school. Children from schools outside Kent County Council’s area are invited to a Kent testing centre at the weekend; the council allocates the date and emails the arrangements before the end of August.
- Families who live outside Kent can register, but Kent County Council asks them to do so only if they intend to apply for a Kent grammar school. Registration is open to children resident in England.
- The Kent Test is only valid for Kent grammar schools. Medway Council has its own Medway Test, and the London Borough of Bexley has its own selection test.
- Kent County Council says grammar schools in Kent provide for children in about the top 25% of the ability range, and that many children will find the test difficult.
The pass mark for 2027
The pass mark is set after each test, when the results come out in October. The last five are below.
- Each child gets three standardised scores, for English, maths and reasoning, and a total (aggregate) score. Standardising adjusts slightly for age, so that the youngest children are not at a disadvantage.
- Each score ranges from 69 to 141, so the highest possible total is 423.
- For the Kent Test sat in September 2026 (for September 2027 entry), a child needed a total score of 345 or more, with no single score lower than 111, to be assessed suitable for grammar school. Kent County Council calls this the grammar school threshold; parents often call it the pass mark.
- Reaching the threshold makes a child eligible for a Kent grammar school. It does not guarantee a place at any particular school: each school ranks eligible children by its own admissions criteria.
The pass mark (grammar school threshold) in the last five tests
| Test sat | For entry | Total needed | No score below |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | Sept 2027 | 345 | 111 |
| Sept 2025 | Sept 2026 | 332 | 108 |
| Sept 2024 | Sept 2025 | 332 | 106 |
| Sept 2023 | Sept 2024 | 332 | 107 |
| Sept 2022 | Sept 2023 | 332 | 108 |
Kent County Council’s page shows only the latest year. The test sat in 2025 is from Wilmington Grammar School for Boys’ admissions FAQs. The earlier years are from copies of the council’s page saved by the Internet Archive: the test sat in 2024 from the copy of 12 December 2024, 2023 from the copy of 1 March 2024 and 2022 from the copy of 30 November 2022.
The other Kent Test 2027: the round for September 2027 entry
If your child sat the test in September 2026 and starts secondary school in September 2027, these are the dates still to come.
- Applications for a Year 7 place opened on Tuesday 1 September 2026 and close at midnight on Monday 2 November 2026.
- National Offer Day is Monday 1 March 2027. Kent County Council sends offer emails after 4pm.
- You must tell the school you were offered whether you accept or refuse the place by Monday 15 March 2027. The same day is the deadline to ask to join the waiting list of a school you ranked lower than the one you were offered.
- An appeal must be lodged by Tuesday 13 April 2027 to count as on time.
- On Tuesday 27 April 2027 Kent County Council reallocates places that have become free to children on the schools’ waiting lists.
Questions parents ask
Kent County Council had not published the dates when this page was checked. In each of the last three years registration opened in the first days of June and closed on 1 July, the test in Kent primary schools was on a Thursday in the second week of September (10 September 2026, 11 September 2025 and 12 September 2024), and results came in mid-October. Past dates are a guide, not a promise.
Kent County Council had not published the registration dates for the test sat in September 2027 when this page was checked. Parents register in the summer term of Year 5, and in each of the last three years registration opened in the first days of June and closed on 1 July: 1 June to 1 July in 2026, 2 June to 1 July in 2025 and 3 June to 1 July in 2024. Past dates are a guide, not a promise.
It is not known until the results come out: Kent County Council publishes the grammar school threshold on results day in October. For the test sat in September 2026 it was a total of 345, with no single score below 111; in the four tests before that the total was 332 each time. A past pass mark is not a promise for the next test.
Kent County Council had not published the date when this page was checked. Results have come in mid-October in each of the last three years: Thursday 15 October 2026, Thursday 16 October 2025 and Thursday 17 October 2024, by email after 4pm to parents who gave an email address when registering, otherwise by first class post.
Children in Year 5 now, who start secondary school in September 2028. Registration is open to children resident in England, and Kent County Council asks families outside Kent to register only if they intend to apply for a Kent grammar school. The Kent Test is only valid for Kent grammar schools: Medway and Bexley run their own tests.
Possibly. Talk to the special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) at your child’s primary school before you register, because the school has to make the request. Arrangements are not limited to children with an EHCP or a diagnosis, and should match the support your child normally has in class. For the test sat in September 2026 the school’s deadline was Wednesday 1 July 2026. A specialist panel decides, and there is no appeal.
When Kent County Council publishes the dates for the test sat in September 2027, this page will change to show them. Until then the past dates are a guide, not a promise.
Sources: Register for the Kent Test · Kent Test page as saved by the Internet Archive on 25 June 2025 · Kent Test page as saved by the Internet Archive on 12 December 2024 · Admission to secondary school in Kent 2027 (guide for parents) · Kent Test results · Apply for a Kent grammar school place · FAQs for admissions into Year 7 2026 · Kent Test page as saved by the Internet Archive on 1 March 2024 · Kent Test page as saved by the Internet Archive on 30 November 2022 · Co-ordinated scheme for secondary admissions 2027-28
Checked on 15 October 2026. If you spot something out of date, please tell us.