The Kent Test Is Changing: What It Means for Year 5

If your child is in Year 5 now, they will sit the first Kent Test set by a new company. Here is what is known so far, what is still to come, and why there is no need to worry.

Last checked 7 October 2026. Kent County Council has not published the new test format yet; we will update this page when it does.

What is changing

A new test-setter. Kent County Council has chosen Quest Assessments to set the Kent Test. Until now it was set by GL Assessment.
From the September 2027 test. That is the test today's Year 5 children will sit at the start of Year 6.
The same company already sets the Bexley test. Bexley moved to Quest Assessments for the 2026 test, so its papers are the best public guide to the style.

Not published yet

Kent has not yet said:

how many papers there will be, their length and timings;
how the subjects will be weighted;
whether the pass rules or the writing task will change;
when new familiarisation material will be available.

Until it does, be wary of anything that claims to match the new Kent Test exactly. Nobody outside the council and the test-setter knows the format yet.

What a Quest grammar test looks like today

The Bexley Selection Test gives a good idea of the style, though Kent may choose a different mix. Two multiple-choice papers, about 50 minutes each. Set by Quest Assessments since 2026 (it was GL before). Verbal ability counts for half the score; maths is tested as numerical reasoning.

Questions usually have five options, A to E, instead of four.
Answers are marked on a separate answer sheet.
In Bexley, maths stays within what children learn by the end of Year 5.

Read our Bexley Selection Test guide · Official free practice papers

What it means for your child this year

The good news: the skills a grammar test checks do not change with the test-setter. Reading and vocabulary, quick and accurate arithmetic, problem solving, and verbal and non-verbal reasoning matter just as much as before. Steady practice now counts whichever format Kent announces.

Keep to a short, regular routine. Fifteen calm minutes most days beats long weekend sessions.
Let your child get used to five-option questions and filling in an answer sheet.
Build up timing gradually through Year 5, and practise at exam pace in the summer before the test.
Note registration in your diary. Last year it ran 1 June – 1 July 2026.

Sitting more than one test?

Many families near the borders sit the Kent Test with the Bexley or Medway test. With Kent and Bexley now set by the same company, preparation for the two overlaps even more. The Medway Test is a separate test for the six Medway grammar schools, and this change is about the Kent Test only.

Kent Test guide · Medway Test guide · Month-by-month timeline