Transfer to Secondary School and the Kent Test SEPTEMBER 2019

Transfer to Secondary School You must apply for a secondary school place for your child to start Year 7 at secondary school. You will need to do this when your child is in Year 6. That means their birthday is between 1st September 2007 and 31st August 2008.

Transfer to Secondary School Applications for children due to start secondary school in September 2019 open 1st September 2018.  You can apply online (www.kent.gov.uk/ola) or by post. Full details of how to apply will be available when applications open. The deadline is 31st October 2018. The application form is called the Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) You will know the results of the Kent Test before having to make this decision.

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Transfer to Secondary School – Choosing Schools You can apply for up to 4 schools, putting them in order of preference. It’s in your best interests to list 4 schools. Naming only one school does not guarantee your child a place at that school or give your child priority for a place over another child, nor does naming a school more than once. Look at the admissions rules for the school and their oversubscription criteria Distance from home Siblings Church school You can apply for up to 4 schools, putting them in order of preference. It's in your best interests to list 4 schools. Naming only one school does not guarantee your child a place at that school or give your child priority for a place over another child, neither does naming a school more than once.

Look around as many schools as possible. You could be given any one of your four choices, so make sure that you are happy with all of them! If you wish to appeal for a school, you will only be able to appeal for those that you have named on this form.

Transfer to Secondary School – Open Evenings Have a look at a range of schools as there is no guarantee you will like the ones you expected and you may not be offered the ones you want. You can view a school’s latest OFSTED report on the internet. You may be able to book to look around a school during a school day if your child has particular needs to be discussed. Play to your child’s strengths – if your child has a particular talent, look for schools which will allow them to develop in that particular area. If your child has SEN, arrange to speak with the SENCo to discuss provisions offered by the school.

Timetable of important Dates 1st June until 2nd July 2018 – Registration to sit the Kent Test (11+) Postal applications should be made between 1st June-14th July. Special Arrangements for taking the test to be completed by the 6th July. By 8th July – Register for the Bexley Test (if required) September 2018 – Secondary schools will start to run open evenings. 6th September 2018 – Children who have registered will sit the 11+. 11th October 2018 – Kent Test (11+) results sent to parents (after 4pm). By 31st October 2018 – Apply for secondary school place (www.kent.gov.uk) by completing the SCAF form. 1st March 2019 – Offers of school places sent to parents after 4pm via email or by 1st class post(up to 3 days later). If you are not satisfied with your given school, make an appointment to see one of us in March and we will guide you through the appeal process.

The Kent Test – English & Maths Paper Multiple-choice format with a separate machine readable (OMR) answer sheet. The whole test will take an hour to administer, plus any admin time before formal timing begins. The English test is the first section. The test contains reading passages of either a narrative or non-narrative nature, together with associated questions and short exercises in spelling, grammar and punctuation. Children will be required to stop at the end of the English section and wait for instructions before they start the Maths paper. The Maths test encompasses a wide range of mathematical ability and its questions reflect the content of the National Curriculum. The tests are multiple-choice with a separate answer sheet. They are marked by an automated marking machine. The first test will be an English and Maths paper and will take 1 hour. Each section will involve a 5 minute practice exercise followed by a 25 minute test. The English section will involve a comprehension exercise as well as some additional questions drawn from a set designed to test literacy skills.

The Kent Test – Reasoning Test Multiple-choice format. It will take about an hour to administer, including the practice drills and questions. The Reasoning paper is made up of two sections: Section 1 is comprised of Non-Verbal and a Spatial Reasoning tests. These are split into 5 sections and children have between 4 and 5 minutes for each section. Section 2 is the Verbal Reasoning test. Pupils have a 10 minute practice test, followed by the main test which will last for 20 minutes. The English, Maths and Reasoning papers will all take place in the morning of 6th September. The second test will be a reasoning paper. It will take about 1 hour, including the practice sections and questions. It will contain a verbal reasoning section and a non-verbal reasoning section of roughly the same length. The non-verbal reasoning will be split into short sections, administered and timed individually. There will also be a writing exercise which will not be marked but may be used by a local headteacher panel as part of the headteacher assessment stage of the process. 40 minutes will be allowed for the writing task, including 10 minutes planning time.

The Kent Test – Writing Task In the afternoon, pupils will sit a writing exercise. They will be given a selection of possible titles and tasks and will be asked to choose one to write about. Unlike the other tasks, the writing task will not be marked but may be taken into consideration in borderline cases. Schools receive the results of the 11+ tests at the beginning of October. This gives us the opportunity to undertake a Headteacher Appeal if a child has missed out on a pass by a few marks. Their Year 5 books and test results will be used to support this process. 40 minutes will be allowed for the writing task, including 10 minutes to plan the piece. The second test will be a reasoning paper. It will take about 1 hour, including the practice sections and questions. It will contain a verbal reasoning section and a non-verbal reasoning section of roughly the same length. The non-verbal reasoning will be split into short sections, administered and timed individually. There will also be a writing exercise which will not be marked but may be used by a local headteacher panel as part of the headteacher assessment stage of the process. 40 minutes will be allowed for the writing task, including 10 minutes planning time.

The Kent Test – Scoring the test Scores: Scores will still be age standardised, using a national standardisation. The score range on each paper will be 69 or 70 to 140 or 141. Threshold: Until Kent pupils have taken the tests it will not be possible to predict the threshold for grammar school. In the last two years, pupils were expected to get a standardised score 106 in all three areas; however, in the past, the score has been as high as 119. If lots of children score highly, the pass mark is set higher. Be aware that some grammar schools are more selective than others and will rank pupils based on their total aggregate. This is the score achieved when adding up the 3 totals from each paper. This year, Dartford Grammar only took pupils with an aggregate of 350 or higher. Your child will get three standardised scores, 1 for English, 1 for Maths and 1 for Reasoning. Standardisation is a statistical process which compares your child's performance with the average performance of other children in each test. A slight adjustment is made to take into account each child's age so that the youngest are not at a disadvantage. A standardised score of 100 represents an average performance for a child of a given age, with the lowest standardised score normally around 70 and the highest around 140. The threshold score for a Kent grammar school assessment can be different each year, because it takes into account the results children achieve. If lots of children score highly on the test, the pass mark is set higher. If lots of children get low scores, the pass mark is set lower. This means that until pupils have taken the tests and they have been marked, it is not possible to publish the threshold for grammar school in a particular year.

The Kent Test – Results Scenarios The results below are based on results that we got this year and really show how varied the scores and selection can be: Pupil A Maths: 110 English: 108 Reasoning: 108 Aggregate: 326 Pupil A was selected for a grammar school place. She achieved over 106 in each area. Pupil B Maths: 137 English: 100 Reasoning: 141 Aggregate: 378 Pupil B was not initially given a grammar school place, despite having achieved full marks in the Reasoning paper and the highest aggregate within the year group. This was due to his low score in the English. We carried out a Headteacher’s Appeal for this child, and consequently, he was given a grammar school place. Your child will get three standardised scores, 1 for English, 1 for Maths and 1 for Reasoning. Standardisation is a statistical process which compares your child's performance with the average performance of other children in each test. A slight adjustment is made to take into account each child's age so that the youngest are not at a disadvantage. A standardised score of 100 represents an average performance for a child of a given age, with the lowest standardised score normally around 70 and the highest around 140. The threshold score for a Kent grammar school assessment can be different each year, because it takes into account the results children achieve. If lots of children score highly on the test, the pass mark is set higher. If lots of children get low scores, the pass mark is set lower. This means that until pupils have taken the tests and they have been marked, it is not possible to publish the threshold for grammar school in a particular year.

The Bexley Test If you want your child to go to a secondary school in the Bexley Borough, they will need to sit the Bexley Test . The registration form can be found at: www.bexley.gov.uk/selectiontests and must be completed by 8th July 2018 Tests will take place on 11th and 12th September 2018 in a Bexley secondary school. The two test papers will each contain a mixture of questions on verbal ability and comprehension, mathematical problem solving and non-verbal reasoning. The test will be divided into timed sections of questions and a CD soundtrack will be played with instructions and timings. The Bexley test consists of two test papers with a mixture of questions on verbal reasoning and comprehension, non verbal reasoning and mathematical reasoning. Each paper will be divided into timed sections, and instructions will be given on an audio soundtrack. Most questions are multiple choice, and all answers are marked on a separate machine-readable answer sheet. There will be a short break between the two test papers.

How Can You Help? Ensure that you keep your child calm and relaxed about sitting the 11+. Remember, a lot of our non-selective schools in the area have got very good reputations – a grammar school is not the be all and end all. Include the children in the decision-making process – remember, they’re the ones who will spend at least 5 years in the school! Make sure they have a chance to give their opinions on the positives and negatives of a school. If you want to give your child extra support in the run up to the tests, we recommend using the GL Assessment practice papers, which can be purchased from WH Smiths or Waterstones. GL Assessment is the company who write the actual 11+ papers and they use the OMR sheets, which will allow pupils to get used to the way they record their answers. The Bexley test consists of two test papers with a mixture of questions on verbal reasoning and comprehension, non verbal reasoning and mathematical reasoning. Each paper will be divided into timed sections, and instructions will be given on an audio soundtrack. Most questions are multiple choice, and all answers are marked on a separate machine-readable answer sheet. There will be a short break between the two test papers.

Checklist If you want your child to sit the selection test, register online by 2nd July 2018 at the latest or 8th July for Bexley. Visit schools in September and October Check oversubscription criteria – make sure you know how each school allocates places Wait for selection test results before making final preferences Complete and return Supplementary Information Forms to faith schools by the published date Apply online by 31 October 2018 Make sure you apply on time! Late applicants will miss out on the most popular schools

Thank you for listening! If you have any questions, feel free to ask now or come and speak to us afterwards.