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What has changed, which year groups it affects, what has not been confirmed, and how to prepare your child.
All 32 Kent grammar schools affected by the change
If your child is currently in Year 5 and you are planning for them to sit the Kent Test in September 2027 for September 2028 grammar school entry, there is an important change you need to know about.
Kent County Council has awarded the Kent Test contract to Quest Assessments. GL Assessment has set the Kent Test for years. From November, it will not.
Kent County Council has not yet written to parents about this. I found it on the government’s contract register rather than in a council announcement, so please treat this page as early sight rather than official guidance. In this guide I will explain what has changed, what has not been confirmed, and what you should actually do next.
Source: the contract award notice on the government’s contract register
For as long as most parents can remember, the Kent Test has been provided by GL Assessment. Kent families have therefore been preparing with GL-style papers and GL familiarisation materials.
On 1 October 2026, a contract award notice was published naming Quest Assessments as the provider of Kent Test examination services. The contract runs from 2 November 2026 for an initial period of two years, with options to extend to 2030. Three providers tendered and one was awarded.
The notice also gives 1 November 2026 as the earliest date the contract can be signed, which is standard procurement practice. The decision has been made.
I would encourage you to read the award notice yourself. It is public, it is the primary source, and you should never have to take a tutor’s word for something you can check.
The September 2026 Kent Test has already been sat under GL Assessment, with results issued on 15 October 2026. That cohort is unaffected.
The new contract begins in November 2026. On the dates alone, the first Kent Test that Quest would set is the one sat in September 2027.
Working through the year groups as they stand this autumn:
Year 6 sat the Kent Test in September 2026, under GL Assessment, for September 2027 entry. Nothing changes for these children.
Year 5 will sit in September 2027 for September 2028 entry. This is the first cohort expected to sit a Quest paper, and the group this page is written for.
Year 4 will sit in September 2028 for September 2029 entry, under Quest.
Year 3 will sit in September 2029 for September 2030 entry, under Quest.
Kent County Council has not confirmed which sitting will be the first under Quest. The years above reflect what the contract dates imply, not what the council has announced. I will update this page when that is confirmed.
This is the question I expect to be asked most, and I cannot answer it yet.
Quest assessments are used both on paper and on computer, depending on the client. When Bexley moved to Quest, the council confirmed early that its test would remain paper-based and multiple-choice. Kent County Council has made no equivalent statement, because it has not yet announced the change at all.
The Kent Test currently consists of three assessments covering English, maths and reasoning, plus a written task. The provider supplies the materials. Kent County Council decides the structure. A change of provider does not automatically mean a change of format.
Anyone telling you now what the 2027 Kent Test will look like is guessing. Please wait for Kent County Council.
Quest Assessments is an entrance and progress assessment provider working with selective and independent schools across the UK. Its admissions arm, Quest Admissions, sets entrance assessments, which is the part relevant here.
Quest assessments typically cover English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, and in some settings include broader problem-solving and multi-source comprehension using texts, charts, maps and images. Which components any one client uses is decided with that client.
Quest is not new to this part of the country. Bexley has used it since September 2026. Some Kent grammar schools have also used Quest for their own school-specific assessments alongside the GL-set Kent Test.
Despite the change of provider, the ability Kent grammar schools are selecting for has not changed. They are still looking for children who can demonstrate:
The exam board is the delivery mechanism. The academic ability being assessed remains the same.
Yes. If your child has been working with GL-style papers, that work is not wasted.
GL papers remain useful because they cover the same core subjects, build exam stamina and timing, and strengthen vocabulary, accuracy and problem-solving, all of which Quest also assesses.
What I would not do is buy Quest-branded practice material on the assumption that it matches what Kent will use. Quest sets different assessments for different clients. What Bexley sat is not necessarily what Kent will sit.
Kent is not the first local authority to make this move, and I have been through it already.
Bexley switched from GL Assessment to Quest for the test sat in September 2026. The change was announced in February 2026, giving families around six months’ notice, and the test went ahead on paper as before.
We prepared our Bexley group for that paper when no past papers for it existed and nobody had sat it.
One of our Bexley students scored 240. The 2026 results letters set the selective threshold at 212 and the Top 180 band at 244, in a year when 5,621 children sat the test and 2,061 were deemed selective.
Three lessons from that cycle are worth passing on.
The panic arrived long before the information did. Parent groups filled with speculation about question types weeks before anything was confirmed, and very little of that speculation turned out to matter.
Children who understood methods coped. Children who had memorised question types struggled. A child who has learned to recognise a question and reach for the matching trick is exposed the moment the question looks different. A child who understands what is being asked works it out, because the thinking does not change when the packaging does.
Vocabulary carried across completely. No change of format affects whether a child knows what a word means, or can work out an unfamiliar word from its context and its parts. Of everything we did with that group, the vocabulary work transferred without a single adjustment. If you want the detail on how we build it, start with How to Improve Your Child’s 11+ Vocabulary at Home.
Dates, format and familiarisation materials will come from KCC. Reacting to a format you have not seen is how families waste a year.
Not a parent group. Not a tutor’s newsletter, including mine. Exam boards, dates and registration windows move more often than parents expect, and the changes rarely arrive with an announcement. The official page is Kent County Council’s Kent Test section.
Not word lists to memorise, but a wide reading habit and the skill of breaking an unfamiliar word into prefix, root and suffix to work out its meaning. This is the single most board-proof thing you can do, and it is where I would put your time between now and September.
I have written about this in detail. How to Improve Your Child’s 11+ Vocabulary at Home covers the daily routine, and The Prudent Problem explains why a child recognising a word is not the same as owning it. That distinction matters more than usual when the paper is unfamiliar.
When your child gets a question right, ask them why the method works. If they cannot tell you, they have learned a pattern rather than a principle, and a pattern is exactly what an unfamiliar paper takes away.
Secure Key Stage 2 maths to the end of Year 5, flexible comprehension across fiction and non-fiction, verbal reasoning through wide reading and word games, and non-verbal reasoning through puzzles and visual problems.
Mix formats so your child is used to problems that look unfamiliar on the day. Logic puzzles and multi-source tasks, where a child combines information from a text and a chart, build the flexible thinking that survives a format change.
Children who do best are those with strong foundations, regular reading habits and steady practice. A calm, structured approach will always beat panic.
For families already in my programme, nothing changes today. I will review the format as soon as Kent County Council publishes it and adapt our teaching plans accordingly, and I will contact current families directly with detailed guidance at that point.
I have prepared students for Quest assessments already, both for Bexley and for independent schools, so I know the style of question, the skills it rewards and the common pitfalls.
My SIMPLE method has always focused on true understanding of maths and English, strong reasoning across verbal and non-verbal, and exam skills like timing, accuracy and resilience. Because we do not teach to the paper, your child’s preparation remains relevant when the paper changes.
If your child is in Year 4 or Year 5 and you have not started, a change of exam board is a sensible moment to begin. A child with strong foundations across all four areas of the 11+ will always be better placed than one trying to learn a specific question style late.
1. Free 11+ SIMPLE Assessment
A quick online questionnaire you complete as a parent. It does not test your child. It helps you understand their overall readiness, covering study habits, mindset, confidence and how they approach learning. It takes about three minutes and gives you a personalised report with practical next steps.
Take the FREE SIMPLE Assessment
2. 11+ Diagnostic Assessment
A detailed, question-based view of your child’s strengths and gaps across maths, English, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, showing which topics to prioritise.
Find out more about the 11+ Diagnostic Assessment
I work with small groups covering all four 11+ subjects, with 20 years in education. 87% of my students secured their first-choice school.
Please note: these results reflect the outcomes of past students and should not be taken as a guarantee of any individual child’s future results.
Is the Kent Test now a Quest exam?
Kent County Council has awarded the Kent Test contract to Quest Assessments, with the contract starting on 2 November 2026. KCC has not yet announced which sitting will be the first under Quest.
Which children does the change affect?
Based on the contract dates, the first affected sitting is September 2027, for September 2028 entry. That is children in Year 5 now. The September 2026 test was set by GL Assessment.
Will the Kent Test be on paper or on computer?
Not confirmed. Quest assessments are used in both formats depending on the client. Bexley kept its test paper-based when it moved to Quest, but Kent County Council has made no statement.
Will the format of the Kent Test change?
Not confirmed. The provider supplies the materials and Kent County Council decides the structure, so a change of provider does not automatically mean a change of format.
When do I register for the Kent Test for 2028 entry?
Not yet confirmed. Registration usually opens in June and closes in early July, through the Kent County Council website.
Are GL practice papers still useful?
Yes. They cover the same core subjects and build the timing, accuracy and vocabulary that Quest also assesses.
This is a developing situation. I will update this guide whenever new confirmed information is published by Kent County Council, so it is worth bookmarking.
In the meantime I would recommend keeping an eye on the official KCC pages, emailing the local authority with specific questions and asking them to confirm in writing, and getting in touch if you would like help building a calm Kent 11+ plan for your child.
If you have questions about the change or your child’s preparation, you can email me at Ronke_@11plusmadesimple.co.uk
Ronke,
Founder, 11 Plus Made Simple
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