Kent College Pembury 11 plus guide

Are you thinking about applying to Kent College Pembury for 11+ entry? Find out everything you need to know about the admissions process and how to prepare for the entrance exam.

Key information for Kent College Pembury

• School type: co-educational independent school (day and boarding)
• Location: Pembury, Tunbridge Wells, Kent
• Admissions contact: admissions@kentcollege.kent.sch.uk
• 11+ exam: Kent College Pembury's own entry paper (creative writing and maths) and the CAT4 cognitive abilities test
• Financial assistance: means-tested bursaries
• Scholarships: academic, art, dance, drama, music and sport

Important dates for 2027 entry

• Friday 23rd October 2026: application and scholarship application deadline
• Week commencing Monday 16th November 2026: scholarship assessments
• Saturday 14th November 2026: Entrance Day (assessments and interview)

How to apply to Kent College Pembury

Kent College Pembury describes itself as an inclusive, gently selective school. This means your child will take part in an assessment process, but selection isn't based on academic performance alone.

You must register your child for Year 7 entry via the school's application form, available on the school website. Applications should be submitted by October of the year before your child's intended start date, alongside a non-refundable registration fee.

Your child will then be invited to attend an Entrance Day in November, where they'll complete the school's assessments and take part in a range of observed activities.

Once the assessments and observations are complete, you'll be invited to an online meeting with the Head to discuss whether Kent College Pembury is the right fit for your family, before a formal decision is made.

What will my child be tested on?

During the Entrance Day, your child will complete two main assessments: the school's own entry paper and the CAT4 cognitive abilities test.

Kent College Pembury entry paper

The school sets its own entry paper, which assesses literacy through a creative writing task, alongside a test of mathematical competence.

CAT4

The second assessment is the CAT4, an age-standardised cognitive abilities test created by GL Assessment.

It measures your child's underlying reasoning ability, rather than what they've been taught in the classroom, across verbal, non-verbal and quantitative (numerical) reasoning. Many applicants will already have sat a CAT4 at their current school, and Kent College Pembury is happy to use these results if they're included in the school reference. Children who haven't previously sat the test, or who'd like the chance to demonstrate improved ability (particularly if applying for an academic scholarship), will be invited to sit it as part of the admissions process.

How are places decided?

Alongside the two assessments, your child will be observed taking part in a short lesson, a team challenge activity, and a group interview during their Entrance Day. Staff use these to look for qualities such as enthusiasm for learning, curiosity, positive interactions with peers and teachers, and a willingness to contribute to school life.

Kent College Pembury reviews the results of the assessments holistically, alongside your child's school reference, reports, and any previous visits or meetings with you as parents. The aim is to establish whether your child will be able to access the curriculum and thrive at the school, rather than ranking children purely by exam score.

Following the Entrance Day, you'll be invited to an online meeting with the Head to discuss the fit between your family and the school. A formal offer is then made in writing. To accept a place, families are asked to return a signed contract along with a deposit.

Financial information

Kent College Pembury is a fee paying school. Take a look at the school website for a full breakdown of fees per year group and for boarding students.

Financial assistance

When exploring independent schools for your child, scholarships and bursaries are worth considering. They can ease the pressure of school fees and open doors to opportunities that might otherwise feel out of reach.

Scholarships

Scholarships are awarded for a child's talent or achievement. While many schools focus on academic excellence, some offer awards in music, sport, drama, art, or other specialist areas.

Scholarships often come with a small fee reduction and acknowledge your child's talents, motivating them and boosting their confidence. Some schools automatically consider all applicants, while others may request an additional application, assessment or audition.

Visit Kent College Pembury's website to see what scholarships are available and how to apply.

For more information, read: Your guide to independent school scholarships.

Bursaries

Bursaries are means-tested awards (based on a family's financial situation) designed to make independent education more accessible. Depending on your circumstances, a bursary could cover part or all of the school fees and sometimes extras like uniforms, lunches or school trips.

Families provide financial information to qualify, and awards are reassessed each year. For many families, bursaries make an excellent education possible that might otherwise seem out of reach.

Visit Kent College Pembury's website to find out what bursaries are available and how to apply.

For more information, read: Bursaries: a parents' guide

How can I help my child prepare for the test?

Applying to senior school can feel like a big milestone, but preparation doesn't have to be overwhelming. Here's how you can help your child prepare for test day.

Stay on track with a clear plan

One of the hardest parts of exam preparation is knowing what to focus on, when, and how to make steady progress without it taking over family life.

A clear, structured plan helps your child feel less overwhelmed and more in control. It ensures they build skills in the right order, cover everything they need, and avoid last-minute cramming.

Atom's exam plan makes this easier. Enter your child's target schools and exam dates, and we'll create a personalised weekly plan tailored to the topics they'll be tested on. It shows them what to work on and when, adapts as they improve, and helps them build progress in a calm, manageable way — little and often.

That means less guesswork for you, less stress for them, and a clearer path all the way to exam day.

Build smart exam technique

As your child's knowledge grows, practice tests can help them feel more comfortable with the real exam format.

Atom's mock tests are exact replicas of real entrance exams. They're also unlimited — your child can take the same test repeatedly and see new questions each time. This helps them practise without repeating the same content.

Atom's mock tests are automatically marked. You'll see your child's standardised age score (SAS), where they're doing well, and what they should focus on next. You'll also learn how they compare to other children applying to the same school.

Encourage regular reading

Strong reading skills play a big role in preparation for entrance exams.

Encourage your child to read every day, even for just 10–15 minutes. The key is variety. Mix fiction and non-fiction, different genres, and a range of authors. This helps them become more confident in understanding tone, purpose, and meaning across different texts.

Over time, regular reading will:

• broaden their vocabulary
• improve comprehension and inference
• build confidence in tackling unseen texts

And just as importantly, it can help them enjoy reading — not just see it as exam preparation.

Looking for inspiration? Atom's reading and writing starter kit has suggestions spanning fiction and non-fiction for Years 3–6.

Celebrate progress, not just scores

When you're supporting your child through exam preparation, what really matters is knowing they're moving in the right direction — not just how they scored on a single test.

Atom's progress tracking gives you a clear, simple picture of how your child is doing in each topic and the direction they're moving in. You can see where they're on track, where they might need more practice, and spot progress as it happens.

That makes it easier to give meaningful encouragement, keep motivation steady, and focus on what matters most: consistent improvement, not just one-off results.