The Kent Test Is Over: What Should Families Do Next?

The Kent Test is finished. For many children and parents, this brings a mixture of relief, pride, tiredness and uncertainty.

After a long preparation period, families often feel that they should be doing something: checking answers, discussing possible scores or planning for every possible outcome. In reality, the most useful first step is to pause.

Allow your child to come down from the pressure

Preparing for the Kent Test may have shaped your family routine for months. There have been lessons, homework, mock papers, corrections and conversations about schools.

Children need permission to put that pressure down.

Praise what they controlled:

attending lessons;

practising difficult skills;

learning from mistakes;

improving their timing;

sitting the test despite feeling nervous; and

completing a demanding process.

Avoid praising only an outcome that has not yet arrived. When we celebrate effort, resilience and growth, children learn that their work had value regardless of the result.

Do not conduct a post-test investigation

Children’s memories of a test are incomplete. They may remember one difficult question and decide the entire paper went badly. Another child may feel confident but have misunderstood a section.

Trying to calculate a score from remembered answers usually increases anxiety without providing reliable information. Comparing accounts with other families can create unnecessary worry for both parents and children.

The result will be released on Thursday 15 October 2026. Until then, let the test remain finished.

Return attention to school

The new term has only just begun. Your child is also adjusting to a new year group, curriculum and set of expectations.

Now is a good time to restore a balanced weekly routine:

complete school homework;

read regularly;

practise essential Maths and English skills;

take part in clubs, sport and family activities;

maintain a healthy bedtime; and

make room for unstructured rest.

Children who have spent months preparing for an entrance test sometimes need help reconnecting with ordinary learning. Remind them that education is much bigger than one examination.

Begin thinking about schools without making promises

Families can continue researching secondary schools, attending open events and considering which environments may suit their child. Look beyond league tables alone.

Consider:

travel and daily routine;

pastoral care;

subject opportunities;

extracurricular activities;

behaviour and learning culture;

support for additional needs;

the size and atmosphere of the school; and

where your child is likely to feel safe, challenged and able to participate.

Avoid telling a child that a particular place is definitely “their school” before results and admissions decisions are known. It is healthier to discuss several positive possibilities.

Prepare emotionally for results day

Parents can decide in advance how they will respond. Your child should not have to manage your first emotional reaction.

If the outcome is what you hoped for, celebrate without comparing your child with others. If it is disappointing, pause before discussing next steps. The result needs to be understood carefully and calmly.

A Kent Test result is information. It is not a judgement on your child’s worth, your parenting or every hour of preparation.

At Maidstone Learning Centre, we will continue to help families interpret results, recognise the progress their child has made and think constructively about the next stage.

For now, close the test papers. Celebrate completion and help your child settle into the school year ahead.

Keep this article and return to MLC for our October guide to Kent Test results day.