Children wishing to enter a grammar school in Kent must complete the Kent Test (also known as the “Eleven Plus”) or the Shepway Test.

Both exams are taken within the first weeks of Year 6 at primary school.  The Kent Test is a paper-based assessment, whereas the Shepway Test is a computerised assessment. For more information about the Kent Test, please visit Kent County Council’s website. More details about the Shepway Test will be made available upon request from the grammar school to which you are applying.

We help children who want to not only prepare for the Kent Test exam but also lay a firmer foundation in their maths and English skills for life beyond the test! Using widely available resources, we help children build confidence and skill in each of the four areas of the Kent Test:

• Maths
• English
• Verbal Reasoning
• Non-Verbal Reasoning (including Spatial Reasoning)
• There is also a creative writing piece

Due to the significant amount of content to be covered and mastered, we strongly recommend starting the familiarisation process towards the beginning of Year 5. This will give your son/daughter enough time to process and retain the new material, rather than cramming it all in. The boost in their confidence and skill will be increasingly reflected in their general Year 5 performance at school, as well as in their Kent Test result.

We have found the most effective approach to be where children work on Kent Test familiarisation materials at home, with parental support, and then bring any questions and misunderstandings to the tutorial sessions. This method not only increases the child’s level of responsibility taken for their work (a vital skill required for secondary school), but it also makes tutorial sessions more cost-effective for you!

As always, there are plenty of free and paid resources out there, which may help your son/daughter further. We can provide limited advice and recommendations on some of these. Feel free to ask!

Regarding the Shepway Test, although we do not directly prepare students for this assessment, there is a great amount of overlap in content. This means that, after having thoroughly prepared for the Kent Test, most children should be able to confidently approach the computerised Shepway Test.

Preparing for life, not just the Eleven Plus

One of the largest factors that determines success in life is PREPARATION. As we all know, the more prepared one is for life, the better one’s chances are of fulfilling one’s potential.

• No serious athlete runs a race without preparation and training,
• No eloquent speaker delivers his speech without adequate research and practice,
• No professional singer presents herself on stage without first priming her voice and breathing,
• And no practicing doctor is permitted to safely deliver a licenced service without many years of study and preparation.

Indeed, we have even heard the famous saying, ‘Failing to prepare is preparing to fail’. Preparation increases our chances of being able to maximise our potential. It gives us the time to build a solid foundation, develop skills, sharpen those skills through practice, grow in confidence, and even helps diminish anxiety surrounding the event.

At Pioneer Academy we recognise that having solid foundations and key building blocks can make a significant difference in one’s motivation, confidence and application along one’s learning journey. Ignorance and knowledge are worlds apart, yet being introduced to some useful tools of understanding can transport one out of darkness into light. We therefore like to and are able to support individuals and journey with them, not just for an exam but for life. We believe in building life-long skills, not ‘exam-tailored’ or ‘tweaked’ skills.

The areas covered in the Eleven Plus exam include Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal reasoning. These areas of questioning are not only valid and relevant to the exam, but also to further education, employment and life in general. Skills in these four areas are actually used every day of our lives; we just don’t always realise it. So preparing for the Eleven Plus can be a journey of building not only a more solid foundation in Maths and English, but also developing confidence and skills in verbal and non-verbal reasoning. One has an opportunity to lay a more solid foundation for higher education, whether it be through grammar school or high school.

No learning journey is wasted, especially when the focus can be broader than the exam itself. Not only is it an opportunity to develop knowledge, understanding and skills, but also to grow and develop in one’s character, attitude, and approach to life. Along the way, one also learns some practical tips for reducing anxiety and coping effectively in test situations.

How can we help?

We can:

• Introduce and familiarise you with the four main areas of the Eleven Plus exam
• Help you, using widely available resources, to work through some practice papers and use the multiple choice answer sheets
• Help lay some more solid foundations and building blocks in mathematical concepts, operations and application
• Develop your understanding and use of the English language, enlarging you vocabulary, understanding of words and creative writing
• Develop verbal and non-verbal skills in general
• Help you develop skills and tools in solving problems
• Give you keys to further unlock your learning
• Facilitate a positive attitude towards yourself, the exam, and tests in general
• Invest in your life by being a positive support and encouragement in your personal growth and development as an individual
• Work with you and your abilities to help you further develop your potential

We cannot:

• Show you the real Eleven Plus test papers!
• Guarantee that you will pass the exam
• Guarantee that you will be accepted into a grammar school
• Cause you nor encourage you to function at a level that is unrealistic for you
• …and will not ‘coach you’

Who you are is more important than what you do.