Results arrive on 15 October. The application deadline is closer than most guides say. Here's the whole year, date by date.
If your child sat the Kent Test in September, the next five months come with a run of deadlines — some well known, one widely misreported, and a couple that most families only discover after they've passed. If your child is in Year 5, next year's process starts sooner than you'd think.
This is every date that matters, what each one actually means, and the three things families most often get wrong.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Mon 1 June 2026 | Kent Test registration opened (now closed) |
| Wed 1 July 2026 | Registration closed at midnight — also the deadline for access arrangement requests (now closed) |
| Thu 10 Sept 2026 | Kent Test sat by pupils at Kent primary schools |
| Sat 12 / Sun 13 Sept 2026 | Kent Test sat by pupils at schools outside Kent, and home-educated children |
| Thu 15 Oct 2026 | Results emailed, after 4pm |
| Mon 2 Nov 2026 | Kent's closing date for secondary school applications |
| Mon 1 Mar 2027 | National Offer Day — you're told which school your child has been offered |
| Mon 15 Mar 2027 | Deadline to accept or refuse your offer, join waiting lists, and for late applications |
| Tue 13 Apr 2027 | Deadline to lodge an appeal for schools named on your original application |
| Tue 27 Apr 2027 | Kent reallocation day — remaining places re-offered |
Results are emailed after 4pm to the address used at registration. Your child will receive three standardised scores — English, maths and reasoning — a total, and a decision: assessed suitable for grammar school, or not assessed suitable.
Scores are age-standardised, so summer-born children aren't penalised for being younger. Individual scores run from 69 to 141.
You may read that a borderline score triggers a review after results day, and that you should wait for it before choosing schools. In Kent, that isn't how it works.
Primary school headteachers receive results in early October, before parents. Where a child has narrowly missed, the head can request a Headteacher Assessment — a panel of headteachers who look at the child's school work, the English paper and the writing task the child completed on the day. This happens confidentially, before results are released.
So the decision you receive on 15 October already includes that review. A child can be assessed suitable with a total below the threshold, if the panel found in their favour. And there's no further stage to wait for: the Kent Test result itself can't be appealed.
What you receive on 15 October is the final assessment decision. Plan your application around it.
You can name up to four schools on your application, in genuine order of preference. Kent uses an equal preference system, so putting your real first choice first doesn't count against you anywhere else.
Two things matter more than anything else here.
“Suitable” is not a place. It means your child can be considered for Kent grammar schools. Places at each grammar school are then given out using that school's own oversubscription criteria — very often distance from the school — and the most popular grammars are routinely oversubscribed by children who all passed. Check each school's admissions policy, and how far away the last child offered a place lived, before you rank.
Always include non-selective schools you'd be happy with. Even if your child sailed through. A form listing only grammar schools, from a child who passed but lives too far away, is how families end up allocated a school they never chose.
On National Offer Day you'll be emailed the school your child has been offered.
If your child wasn't assessed suitable and you believe the result understates their ability, the appeal for a grammar school place is the route — after 1 March, not before. Strong school evidence is what these appeals turn on.
Next year's process, for children starting secondary school in September 2028, hasn't been published by Kent yet. But the pattern has been consistent for years: registration opens around 1 June and closes at midnight around 1 July, with the test in early-to-mid September of Year 6.
Treat those dates as expected rather than confirmed until Kent publishes them — usually in the spring.
The Kent Test is only used by grammar schools in the Kent County Council area. Medway, Bexley and Bromley all run their own separate tests, on their own dates — Bexley's registration, for example, runs through March. If you're considering schools across a border, check each authority's own timetable.
Thinking about the Kent Test for next year, or not sure what your options are after results day? A free 15-minute call is a calm place to talk it through.
Book a Free 15-Minute CallWhatever arrives on 15 October, the move to secondary is what matters most — and it's where we spend much of our time.
“She supported my son throughout his 11+ preparation, and, as a result of her guidance and expertise, he was successful.”
“My daughter has progressed hugely since being with Lauren. She has also become much more confident in her learning and is now preparing to take the Kent Test, which isn’t something we initially thought possible.”
A test result tells you how one morning went. It doesn't decide who your child is going to become.
When are Kent Test results released in 2026?
Thursday 15 October 2026, by email after 4pm to the address used at registration.
When is the deadline for secondary school applications in Kent?
Kent County Council's closing date is Monday 2 November 2026. The national date of 31 October falls on a Saturday this year. If you live outside Kent, apply through your own council by its deadline, even for a Kent grammar school.
What happens if my child's Kent Test score is borderline?
In Kent, the Headteacher Assessment takes place before results are released, confidentially, at the request of the child's primary school head. The decision sent to parents on 15 October already includes it, and the Kent Test result itself cannot be appealed.
Does passing the Kent Test guarantee a grammar school place?
No. Being assessed suitable means your child can be considered. Places are allocated using each school's oversubscription criteria, often distance, and popular grammar schools are frequently oversubscribed.
When can I appeal for a grammar school place?
After National Offer Day on 1 March 2027. Appeals for schools named on your original application must be lodged by Tuesday 13 April 2027.
When is Kent Test registration for September 2028 entry?
Kent hasn't published it yet. In recent years registration has opened around 1 June and closed at midnight around 1 July, with no late registrations. Access arrangement requests are due by the same date.
Dates and admissions arrangements are set by Kent County Council and individual schools and can change. Always check kent.gov.uk and each school's admissions policy for current information.
“A test result tells you how one morning went. It doesn't decide who your child is going to become.”