Kent Test Living Abroad: 2027 Entry Rules for Families

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Leading Tuition’s Kent Test programme for families abroad is one-to-one 11+ preparation planned around Kent County Council’s rules for children who do not yet live in England. Registration for 2027 entry closed on 1 July 2026. For a move into Kent after that date, KCC’s scheme provides for testing to take place by 31 December 2026, if proof of residency and a secondary school application reach KCC by 7 December 2026.

Every rule below is quoted from KCC’s own pages and scheme, GOV.UK or a grammar school’s 2027 policy, read on 3 October 2026, with the speaker named.

Can a Child Living Abroad Register for the Kent Test?

Kent County Council (KCC) states the rule on its registration page for 2027 entry: “Registration is open to parents of children resident in England (not including Crown Dependencies for example Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man), and the children of UK service personnel with a confirmed posting to the UK and Crown Servants returning from overseas to the UK, who will transfer to secondary school in 2027.” Paragraph 18 of KCC’s Co-ordinated Scheme for Secondary Admissions for 2027/28 carries the same wording.

KCC’s own registration leaflet words it differently: the Kent Test is for children who “are either resident in the UK or are the children of UK Service Personnel / other Crown Servants returning to the UK”. Two grammar schools that add their own test use the UK wording too. Weald of Kent Grammar School’s registration is “open to girls resident in the UK”, and Borden Grammar School’s is “open to boys resident in the UK”. KCC’s web page and scheme say England; KCC’s leaflet and the Weald of Kent and Borden policies say the UK. This page quotes each and does not choose between them. A family whose plans turn on the difference can ask KCC at kent.admissions@kent.gov.uk.

The scheme defines the word “resident” in paragraph 19: “A child’s country of residence is where the child normally lives, not a temporary address (such as for holiday or educational purposes) before returning overseas.” So a holiday or study stay in England does not change a child’s country of residence.

KCC’s page for families moving from outside the UK says: “It is the responsibility of the parents of foreign national children to check their children have a right under their UK entry conditions to study at a school before applying for a place.” GOV.UK’s guidance on applications from overseas children adds: unaccompanied children entering on a Child Student or Student visa “cannot lawfully, under their UK entry conditions, study at a state-funded school.” Kent’s grammar schools are state-funded.

Where and When Does a Child From Abroad Sit the Kent Test?

For 2027 entry, children at Kent primary schools sat on Thursday 10 September 2026 in their own school. KCC’s leaflet says children “who attend primary schools outside Kent or are Educated at Home sit the test in a Test Centre” on Saturday 12 or Sunday 13 September 2026, with test-centre details emailed “by the end of August”. KCC asks families outside Kent to settle attendance first: “If you live outside Kent, please consider carefully before registering whether your child can attend the testing session in Kent”.

Some grammars add a sitting of their own. Paragraph 13 of the scheme marks Borden, both Dover grammars, Folkestone School for Girls, Harvey, Highsted and Mayfield as schools that “also accept pupils who have reached the required standard in their own-school test”, and Harvey’s policy describes that route as passing “tests taken at The Harvey Grammar School”. Weald of Kent Grammar School admits girls “through the PESE process or through success in the Weald Grammar Assessment”, held “on the Saturday following the Kent Test”, with registration from Monday 1 June 2026 to Friday 10 July 2026.

Registration Closed on 1 July 2026: What Can a Family Arriving Later Still Do?

KCC’s registration page tells a family that missed the close to email kent.admissions@kent.gov.uk with the child’s name, date of birth, full address and current school. The rules sit in KCC’s determined scheme for 2027/28; two paragraphs have to be read together.

Paragraph 22 accepts late registrations from children at Kent primary and junior schools, “As far as reasonably practicable”, if a KTAF arrives by Tuesday 21 July 2026, and says the deadline “may be extended” for some pupils (see the table). It then says: “It will not be possible to accept late applications for children attending non-Kent County Council schools due to the constraints in securing test centre places for this cohort.” A school overseas is not a Kent County Council school, so this is the sentence a family abroad meets first.

Paragraph 24 supplies the exception. Where a child cannot sit the Kent tests on the specified dates, “arrangements will be made for testing to take place by Thursday 31 December 2026” in two named circumstances. The second reads: “(b) a move into the Kent County Council area after the closing date for test registration. (NB: This can only be arranged if parents have provided proof of residency and submitted a secondary school application by Monday 7 December 2026).” Read together, a child at a non-Kent school cannot register late as such, and a family arriving from abroad has to come through a move into the Kent County Council area. Outside the named circumstances, paragraph 25 says such children “will not have an opportunity to sit the test until after Tuesday 27 April 2027”.

Source: Kent County Council, Co-ordinated Scheme for Secondary Admissions, academic year 2027/28, and its Kent Test registration page, read 3 October 2026.

Our guide to relocating to the UK mid-cycle covers the in-year process that follows.

Which Council’s Form Does a Family Abroad Use?

KCC’s leaflet draws the line at the child’s address: “applications can only be made via Kent County Council (KCC) if the child resides at a KCC address. If your child does not reside at a KCC address, you must make an application via your Local Authority.” Paragraph 5 of the scheme says residents outside Kent “must complete their home Local Authority’s SCAF”, and KCC’s grammar application page adds that “all your preferred schools must be listed on your home local authority’s application form”. The School Admissions Code, paragraph 2.3, gives the mechanism: the common application form “is required to be returned to the local authority in the area that they live”.

For a family with no English address yet, the Department for Education’s guidance says: “If an application is made from another country, local authorities should consider the application as adequate proof of an intention to move or return to the area and include it within the local authority co-ordinated process.” Admission authorities cannot “require the applicant has a permanent home address either in the UK or overseas before processing an application”, though an authority may ask for evidence, and GOV.UK lists a mortgage or rental agreement, deeds, an employer’s letter showing a transfer date, and registration with a local GP.

KCC’s leaflet says “KCC residents apply online”, with the window running from Tuesday 1 September 2026 to midnight on Monday 2 November 2026 and up to four secondary schools, inside or outside Kent, on one application. It adds: “Other LA deadlines may differ.” A family applying through another local authority therefore checks that authority’s closing date as well. For families who are “moving to the United Kingdom”, KCC’s in-year admissions page says to “email kentinyearadmissions@kent.gov.uk to discuss your application”. The leaflet warns: “KCC has no discretionary authority to vary the process for parents who cannot complete address moves in time to make use of them for admissions purposes.”

How Do Kent Grammars Rank a Home Outside Their Area?

KCC says on its registration page that “Some of Kent’s grammar schools - particularly those which are most likely to offer places to children from outside Kent - give priority to those with the highest scores.” GOV.UK adds that where a parent cannot show a return, a residence in another country “might give the child a lower priority for admission if the admission authority operates a catchment area or if the child is tied for the final place available with other applicants.” The eight policies in the table build that priority in different ways.

Source: each school’s admission policy for September 2027 entry, read 3 October 2026. Places, offer scores and full criteria are on the linked pages.

Read in their own terms, the eight lines differ. Tonbridge Grammar keeps a separate list for homes outside its three named councils, ranked by score and then distance. The Skinners’ School ranks its Outer Area first by a score at least 40 points above the KCC threshold, then by siblings, sons of staff and distance. Tunbridge Wells Girls’ puts “named parishes” or “a 4 mile proximity” ahead of distance. Weald of Kent and Borden tier by postcode, Gravesend by borough and parish, and Harvey by district, and Norton Knatchbull ranks by distance after its looked-after, pupil premium, sibling and health criteria. In each, the address written on the application form decides which line applies to the child.

Which Addresses Do Kent Grammars Accept, and When Must You Live There?

• Tonbridge Grammar School accepts a home “either owned by the applicant’s parent, parents or guardian, OR leased to or rented by the applicant’s parent, parents or guardian under a lease or written rental agreement”. Under “Waiting lists”, its Guidance for Parents adds: “Changes of home address involving rental property must be supported by a rental agreement of at least 12 months duration.”
• Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar School asks for a “minimum 12 months tenancy agreement in the case of rented accommodation/social housing”. On a Short Term Tenancy Agreement (less than 12 months) the parental address stays the earlier one “unless it can be shown that all ties to the previous address have been relinquished, or that the move is not easily reversible”. It adds: “It is expected that you will be permanently resident at the property concerned before National Offer Day”, which is Monday 1 March 2027.
• The Skinners’ School says: “You are not permitted to use a temporary address to secure a school place for your child.” A family that moves after applying must tell the school “no later than two weeks after your move”.
• Weald of Kent Grammar School requires “the student’s home address on the day you completed your application form”.
• Borden Grammar School may ask for “Evidence of ownership or rental agreement” plus “proof of the child’s permanent residency at the property concerned”.

GOV.UK adds that where an application comes from an address in another country and “the child does not attend school on the first day of term”, the admission authority “could, in some circumstances, remove the offer”.

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Service and Crown Servant Families: What Changes?

Paragraph 49 of the scheme gives UK service families with a confirmed posting, and Crown servants returning from overseas, a later deadline: applications “will be accepted up until Monday 7 December 2026, where it is confirmed in writing by the appropriate authority that the family will be resident in Kent by 1 September 2027”. A confirmed address “is required from which home-school distance will be calculated”, and “for UK Service Personnel only we would accept a Unit or quartering address.”

The Admissions Code sets the floor. Paragraph 2.21 says authorities must “not refuse a place solely because the family do not yet have an intended address, or do not yet live in the area”, and must use a Unit or quartering address as the home address “where a parent requests this”. KCC’s in-year admissions page asks for “an official letter that declares a relocation date and a Unit postal address or quartering area address”. Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar School states: “Returning forces personnel and crown servants will be considered in line with the Local Authority Scheme.” Our forces families guide covers the application side.

Joining After the Year 7 Round: How Does Each Grammar Test a Late Arrival?

KCC’s page for moving to Kent says a child who arrives after the Kent Test “will still need to be assessed”, arranged “through the grammar school you are applying for”. On which test applies it says: “Until the end of the first term in the school year, all grammar schools will use the Kent Test. This will give you an assessment which is valid for any grammar school in the Kent County Council area.” Then: “If your child has not already been tested and you are looking for a year 7 place after the first term in the school year, or a place in a different year group, the grammar school will use its own assessment process.” Also: “If you apply for more than one grammar school your child will need to take a different test for each grammar school you apply for.”

• Tonbridge Grammar School: “All applicants will be tested by the School to establish suitability for selective education”, and “applicants are expected to be in a position to prove residential eligibility and take up the place within a reasonable length of time. This would normally be 10 school days from acceptance or the start of the next term in the case of an overseas application.”
• The Skinners’ School: a CAT4 assessment, where “The minimum Mean score required in the CAT4 assessment will be 120”.
• Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar School: girls visit the school “for either one day, or two consecutive mornings” to sit cognitive ability and subject tests.
• The Harvey Grammar School: boys may be admitted, subject to places, “if they achieve a selective standard in the school’s admission assessments in English and Mathematics”.
• Borden Grammar School: “we may offer a bespoke assessment for a student who has moved into the area and is without a school.”

Our guide to joining a grammar school after Year 7 covers waiting lists around these tests.

Is the Child in the Right Year Group for England?

KCC’s registration page: “Children currently in Year 5 who were born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016 can take the Kent Test in 2026.” A child outside that range who is expected to transfer in September 2027 is told to email kent.admissions@kent.gov.uk. For an application outside the normal age group, paragraph 58 says parents “should request a SCAF by contacting the team” and are advised “to talk to schools no later than Tuesday 1 September 2026”.

A Year 9 Boarding Route With No Priority Area: Cranbrook

KCC’s secondary applications page says “Cranbrook School is the only school in Kent with year 9 entry.” Cranbrook’s boarding policy for 2027 covers birth dates between 1 September 2013 and 31 August 2014, a later entry point and a different cohort from the Year 7 round. It states: “There is no priority area for boarding with boarders being able to join Cranbrook School from both within the priority area or elsewhere in the world provided they hold a UK or Irish passport or have a Right of Residency in the UK and subject to passing the relevant entrance test”.

That passport wording belongs to Cranbrook’s boarding policy, which says it “applies to entry to the School as a boarding student” and that “Day entry is subject to separate Policy and procedure”. Cranbrook’s published eligibility rule for its boarding places reads in full: “All candidates should be eligible for a UK state education by holding either a British or Irish passport or having Right of Abode in the UK”. GOV.UK states the general rule for state-funded schools: their admission authorities “must not ask to see passports or other immigration information as a condition of admission”. This page quotes Cranbrook’s wording as Cranbrook’s own rule for boarding places and applies it to no other school or entry. Its boarding-need criterion “includes, but is not limited to” children of Crown Servants serving abroad and “children whose parent/s is/are temporarily or permanently resident abroad”. See our Cranbrook School page.

How Does Leading Tuition Prepare a Child Abroad for the Kent Test?

The Kent Test has two papers: an English and maths paper of 1 hour and a reasoning paper of about 1 hour, with verbal and non-verbal sections, plus a writing exercise that KCC says “will not be marked but may be used by a local headteacher panel as part of the headteacher assessment stage of the process”, with 40 minutes allowed, including 10 minutes’ planning time. Our Kent 11+ page covers the format, and the hub for families abroad covers other areas. Teaching is one to one. Families outside the UK can take the whole programme online. Every child begins with an assessment so that tuition is focused on the areas that will make the most difference. For a family abroad the plan starts from the date in the table above that applies to them.

• Registered for the September 2026 sitting: tuition follows the child’s result, while the school-level criteria above govern which schools the family’s address suits.
• Moving into Kent after 1 July 2026: the plan works back from the testing date KCC or the school sets, inside paragraph 24’s limit of testing to take place by 31 December 2026.
• Service or Crown servant family: the plan works from the relocation date in the official letter.

Reviewed 3 October 2026: dates, figures and rules checked against kent.gov.uk, GOV.UK and each school’s own admission policy for September 2027 entry.

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