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The Harvey Grammar School
11 Plus (11+) Exam Information
Key Information
Address: The Harvey Grammar School, Cheriton Road, Folkestone, Kent CT19 5JY
County: Kent
School Website: www.harveygs.kent.sch.uk
School Type: Boys
Number of Pupils: 1025
Number of Places in Year 7: 150
Open Day Date: Contact School
Exam Date: September
Exam Board Type: GL (Kent 11+) and CEM (The Shepway Test)
About The Harvey Grammar School
The Harvey Grammar School, located in Kent, is a renowned educational institution with a rich history spanning several decades. Established in 1674, it has maintained its commitment to providing excellent education for boys in the local community for over three centuries. The school takes pride in its strong academic tradition and its dedication to nurturing well-rounded individuals.
In its most recent Ofsted inspection (December 2022), The Harvey Grammar School achieved an outstanding rating, highlighting the school's exceptional standards in teaching, student progress, and overall achievement. The report commended the school for its high-quality teaching staff who consistently inspire and motivate students to excel academically.
The school boasts excellent facilities to support a wide range of academic and extracurricular activities. Its modern classrooms are equipped with the latest educational technology, and specialist facilities for subjects such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are available to encourage practical learning experiences.
The Harvey Grammar School has a particular specialism in STEM subjects, fostering a passion for these areas and encouraging students to explore related career paths. This focus provides students with a solid foundation for future academic and professional pursuits.
With regards to attainment levels, The Harvey Grammar School consistently achieves outstanding results in public examinations, with a significant number of students gaining admission to top-tier universities and securing scholarships. The school's commitment to academic excellence is evident in its students' achievements.
Beyond academics, the school offers a wide array of extracurricular clubs and activities to cater to various interests. Students can participate in sports, arts, music, drama, and numerous other clubs, allowing them to develop their skills and pursue their passions outside of the classroom.
Kent Grammar Schools
11 Plus Exams
The tests are multiple-choice with a separate answer sheet. They are marked by an automated marking machine.
The first test will be an English and maths paper and will take 1 hour. Each section will involve a 5-minute practice exercise followed by a 25-minute test. The English section will involve a comprehension exercise as well as some additional questions drawn from a set designed to test literacy skills.
The second test will be a reasoning paper. It will take about 1 hour, including the practice sections and questions. It will contain a verbal reasoning section and a non-verbal reasoning section of roughly the same length. The non-verbal reasoning will be split into short sections, administered and timed individually.
There will also be a writing exercise which will not be marked but may be used by a local headteacher panel as part of the headteacher assessment stage of the process. 40 minutes will be allowed for the writing task, including 10 minutes planning time.
The Shepway Test
In addition, pupils can also sit The Shepway Test to give them a second chance to show that they are of selective ability. The Harvey Boys Grammar School runs ‘The Shepway Test’ alongside Folkestone School for Girls. This is a test developed by CEM at Durham University.
The Shepway Test is a computer based test which tests three areas: verbal reasoning, non verbal reasoning and mathematics. The test lasts 45 minutes.
Students only have to achieve the required standard on one of the tests in order to be deemed selective.
How to Prepare for the Kent 11+ Exam
Your child will need to develop the following skills:
Verbal Reasoning
Non-Verbal Reasoning
Maths
English
Creative Writing
Kent Grammar School
Admissions Guide
In the first instance, parents must register their child to sit the Kent Test, which can be done online via Kent County Council. Once students have taken the test in September, parents will receive their results in October and must then submit their Secondary School Common Application Form (SCAF) via the Kent local authority website.
Kent 11+ Standardised Scores
Your child will get 3 standardised scores, one for English, one for maths and one for reasoning, and a total (aggregate) score.
Standardisation is a statistical process which compares your child's performance with the average performance of other children in each test. A slight adjustment is made to take account of each child's age so that the youngest are not at a disadvantage.
The grammar school threshold for the test will not be published until the results have been sent out.
In order to calculate a standardised score the company producing and marking the tests will create a reference table – called a “look-up table” – for each test paper that is written, and the table is specific to that test paper, because it takes account of the difficulty of the paper. The minimum standardised score is derived from the look-up table and the actual number will vary depending on the average score of all those taking the test and the number of applicants.
Below is an example look-up table. The vertical axis is the “raw score”, i.e. the number (percentage) of actual questions that a child gets right on a paper. The horizontal axis represents the age of the child at the time of taking the exam, shown as years + months.
Kent 11+ Pass Mark
In 2021, children needed a total score of 332 or more, with no single score lower than 109 to be allocated a place at a Kent grammar school. Test scores ranged from 69 to 141. The highest possible total score is 423.
Kent Grammar Schools
Appeals Process
If your child did not reach the threshold score and their primary school referred their case to the local Head Teacher Assessment Panel, the panel will have looked at their achievement in school and examples of their work, including the writing task completed on the day, before a final decision was made.
If your child does not qualify, the Head does not seek a review or if the review is unsuccessful, you still have the right to have your child’s case heard by an Independent Appeals Panel. You are only able to appeal a decision after school allocations have been sent out to parents in March.
Kent Grammar Schools
Oversubscription
Every school has its own oversubscription criteria that it uses to decide which children can be offered a place at their school.
The Harvey Grammar School Oversubscription Criteria
Before the application of oversubscription criteria, children with a statement of special educational need which names the school will be admitted.
Places will be allocated in the following priority order:
1. A looked after child or a previously looked after child.
2. Boys in receipt of Pupil Premium who live in the district of Folkestone and Hythe.
3. Boys who live in the district of Folkestone and Hythe.
4. Boys that satisfy the selection criteria with those living nearest to the school being given higher priority.
Prepare for Kent 11+ Exam
What We Provide
Kent 11+ Past Papers
Use these papers to practise the question types for the Kent 11+ exam.
Verbal Reasoning Test 1
Verbal Reasoning Test 1 Answer Sheet
Verbal Reasoning Test 2
Verbal Reasoning Test 2 Answer Sheet
Verbal Reasoning Test 3
Verbal Reasoning Test 3 Answer Sheet
Verbal Reasoning Mark Scheme
Maths Test 1
Maths Test 1 Answer Sheet
Maths Test 2
Maths Test 2 Answer Sheet
Maths Mark Scheme
English Test 1
English Test 1 Answer Sheet
English Test 2
English Test 2 Answer Sheet
English Mark Scheme
Non-Verbal Reasoning Test 1
Non-Verbal Reasoning Test 1 Answer Sheet
Non-Verbal Reasoning Test 2
Non-Verbal Reasoning Test 2 Answer Sheet
Non-Verbal Reasoning Test 3
Non-Verbal Reasoning Test 3 Answer Sheet
Non-Verbal Reasoning Mark Scheme
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