Year 4 or Year 5.

Independent Schools will have been teaching reasoning skills for the 11+ at least two years prior to the Kent Test, however these are not required for the National Curriculum and so they are not taught in state-funded primary schools.   This places pupils from state-funded schools at a distinct disadvantage.

Kent Maintained Primary Schools are actually forbidden from using school lesson time to prepare for the Kent Test 11+ (although some primary schools might offer after-school practice sessions where their teachers volunteer).

It is no surprise, then, that pupils from Independent Schools, and those who have been privately tutored, tend to do better at the Kent Test 11+ and prepared candidates secure a higher proportion of Grammar School places.

In no other walk of life would you deliberately go into a test unprepared.

The more time that a child has to absorb and practise new learning, the more confident and able they will be, and the less stressful they will find assessments and tests. 

Yes, we tutor individuals with neuro diversities, including ADHD and Autism.

Everyone is unique.

For neuro-minorities, a standardised school classroom lesson creates frustrations, for both teacher and pupil, as the individual doesn’t “fit” the plan for the majority.   The more “non-standard” individuals in a class, the harder it is to manage it for all.

One-to-one tuition allows the flexibility and dynamism that suits the individual, rather than the classroom teacher, and allows the individual to be the majority. 

Our Shangri-La is to find a way that is engaging and which allows the individual flexibility and scope for their imagination to roam – sometimes to fly off at a tangent, which is good – to satisfy that present thought and to coax them back to also make progress towards an underlying objective or learning goal.

People with neuro diversities respond better to individual treatment and consideration, and attain better outcomes.

One.

We don't compromise.   We only offer one-to-one tuition focussed entirely on your child.

During the Coronavirus Pandemic, we are only offering online one-to-one tuition.

This is because a tutor going from house-to-house risks becoming a community "Super-Spreader" for Covid.   We feel that this is socially unacceptable.

We consider that it is more responsible to provide quality tuition online than to run those risks with the community.

We can honestly claim a 100% success rate.

HOWEVER, that is not the same as 100% of children whom we tutor passing the Kent Test.   No-one can guarantee such an outcome.

We do not "cherry-pick" only the best candidates, and we do not exclude less-able children from tuition in case they spoil a "success rate".

What we are successful in is our Mission, which is to improve the life chances of every child we tutor.   In that, we aim to be 100% successful.

We look to identify and fill gaps in knowledge, to build confidence and, importantly, to build happiness as a learner.

We only provide one-to-one tuition, so that we can focus entirely on, and adapt to the needs of, the one child in the tutorial.

As a result, we believe that we can provide opportunity to children to fulfil their best potential, and every child can feel success by improving their own level.

Absolutely Not !   Absolutely chalk and cheese !  

Our online tutorials are 100% dedicated to your child - there are no other classmates or distractions.

Your child will be engaged in a one-to-one, two-way, dialogue throughout each tutorial and can ask questions at any time, and receive thorough answers, checked for understanding before moving on.

Your child's work is visible to the tutor, and the tutor's material is visible to your child, so misunderstandings or mistakes can be picked up and addressed immediately.

There isn't an inflexible classroom delivery plan to stick to, so the teaching and learning can be dynamically adapted to your child's needs on the day.

This all leads to a faster rate of learning and greater confidence for your child.

Absolutely, yes.   They are very different tests, and do give different results, selecting different cohorts.   

If you live near Medway, and it could be practical to attend either a Kent or a Medway Grammar School, you will need to take both tests, for eligibility in both education authorities.

Taking both tests increases your options for obtaining a Grammar School education for your child.

The outcome of 11+ tests such as the Kent Test and the Medway Test depend not only on the performance of YOUR child on the day, but also the performance of the others taking the test that year.

You might feel that your child is "brighter" than an elder sibling was at the same age, but the 11+ assessment is comparative, not an absolute measure of IQ.

Not only that, but different 11+ tests in different education authorities will select a DIFFERENT cohort as suitable for a Grammar School education, from the SAME children.

The real purpose of an 11+ test is to find a reasonably "fair" and "meddle-proof" mechanism for rationing the number of Grammar School places, and broadly assessing the type of candidate who could cope with a more academic approach to learning in secondary school.

If your child receives an 11+ result saying he or she has been assessed as suitable for a "non-selective" school, you must not think of this as a "fail".   What it means is that your child is more likely to be happy with the more practical teaching styles adopted in non-selective schools, but would likely have been less happy with the more academic learning styles adopted by most Grammar Schools.

No.   However, this is a controversial and emotive topic.

The principle of Grammar Schools is that children of parents who do not have social and economic advantages are able to access an academic education equal to Independent (fee-paying) Schools.

We can, however, criticise the opportunities that less-privileged children have at primary stage, and how well the educational system prepares them for an 11+, and that there are not the number of grammar-style education places for the children who would benefit from them.   

This isn't the fault of Grammar Schools. 

We dont just "coach" or "teach-to-the-test", and we don't do last minute "cramming".   None of these is generally effective or successful.

We do seek to give your child quality tuition to enrich their education, that will prepare them for the 11+ - and their KS2 studies - and KS3 and beyond.

Tuition will include familiarisation with 11+ (e.g. Kent Test or Medway Test) style questions, and will incude grammar, vocabulary, punctuation and techniques some of which are not included in the National Curriculum until after the dates for 11+ tests.

We do not cream off only the brightest, but our mission is to improve the life chances of each and every child whom we tutor. 

There aren't enough places.

But it's also about learning styles.

A Grammar School education is more suitable for children who prefer to learn by hearing and reading, and who are adept at quickly understanding a new concept from the theory of an abstract idea, and moving on.

A non-selective education is more suitable for children who prefer to learn by seeing, doing and experiencing something, rather than from theory, and who like to take time to absorb new ideas.

Putting the "wrong" kind of learner into the "wrong" kind of teaching and learning environment can be hugely frustrating for the child, and they will underperform their personal potential.

No.

For example, if your child was absent, ill or underperformed on the day, you cannot appeal the result, or have another go.

The only grounds for appeal would be if the Kent Test was improperly conducted, not at an individual candidate level.

Absolutely YES.

Our mission is to improve the life chances of each and every child we tutor, no matter what their starting point or situation.

Let's face it, learning is hard. 

It is difficult to take on new ideas and concepts, and it can feel that, in every classroom, there are children who are "faster" or "better" than us.

There are some things we just dont get.

Learning is not only hard, sometimes it just isn't fun.

By focussing on individuals, we can find ways to gently explain and practise new ideas in ways that are just not possible in a classroom setting.

Not all primary school children will choose to take the 11+, for a variety of reasons. 

The 11+ is now staged right at the beginning of Year 6.   Not only is there no school time then to prepare for the test, but children need some time at the start of term to settle down, reacquaint with their friends and peers and get their heads back into academic learning mode.

If it is possible to book your holiday earlier, it would help your daughter to finalise her preparation for her 11+ in the run-up to the end of August and the start of the new school year.   She will be able to ‘hit the ground running’ and this is a distinct advantage over entering the 11+ still trying to cognitively and emotionally adjust from the holiday.

Candidates must not only score above the published aggregate score, but also above one third of that in EACH of the main elements: English, Maths and Reasoning.

Unfortunately, a very high score in one element does not compensate for a low score in another.

The 11+ tests are not like IQ tests - there is not a fixed score above which a candidate is "Grammar School Material".

Instead, they select the 25% from the cohort of candidates who enter in any one year who most closely fit the criteria of the test in that year.

The Kent Test and the Medway Test select their 25% in different ways - The Kent Test selects all-rounders who are above average in English, Maths AND Reasoning.   The Medway Test selects all-rounders in English and Maths, but also those who are gifted or talented in one but not the other.

Unfortunately, there are not enough Grammar School places for the number of candidates who are assessed eligible to apply for a Grammar School education.   Like your child, there will be some successful Kent Test 11+ candidates who will be unsuccessful in securing a Grammar School place.

Secondary School Allocations are released on March 1st of Year 6 (following parents' and carers' expression of School Preferences the previous autumn).

If, on March 1st, you have not been allocated the school you would prefer, you have a Statutory Right of Appeal for a Year 7 place to each and any of the schools which you named on your School Preference CAF - Common Application Form.   You cannot appeal to any school that you did not name on your CAF.

Note that these appeals are made to each individual school, NOT to the education authority.   Each school to which you appeal must consider your appeal with due process, together with any supporting evidence which you are permitted to submit (sometimes none).

Your appeal is considered together with all the other appeals, and there might be a separate school-specific admissions test which your child would need to attend.

IF the school still has any vacant Y7 place(s) they may choose the most suitable candidate(s) at their discretion.

Note that you can only appeal for vacant places; you cannot displace anyone who has already been allocated a place on the basis that your child is "better" than another.

If there are no vacant places, you may put your child's name down on the school's Casual Admissions Waiting List, to be considered if and when a place does become vacant (e.g. if a pupil's family moves away to a different area).

Appeals are heard (and allocated) before any Casual Admissions are considered. 

We are fully invested in the successful future of the children whom we tutor.  In these difficult circumstances, we offer guidance to Parents and Carers to help to achieve Grammar educations for those children who deserve them and would benefit from them.

She absolutely can !

She will sit the same 11+ tests with the same thresholds, however special arrangements might be made to be able to access the test ‘on a level playing field’.   

You should discuss your child’s circumstances with your school’s Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) as early as possible to facilitate the application to the Test administrators.

A SEND candidate who achieves the required threshold scores in the Test is guaranteed a place at Grammar School, as places are allocated to SEND candidates before others (check the published admission policy on the website of your desired Grammar School).