More than 16,500 pupils will find out today whether they have passed the Kent Test, giving them the chance to apply to a grammar school in the county.

Nearly half of children aged 10 and 11 who sat the 11-plus last month made the grade.

Kent County Council has revealed that of the 16,656 pupils who took the test, 7,706 will learn they received a high enough score to now apply for a grammar school place in the county - that's 46%.

Of the 7,706 pupils assessed as eligible, only about 60% - 4,641 - are from Kent while the remaining 3,065 pupils come from outside the county or are those educated at home.

Families who registered online for the test will be sent an email after 4pm today giving their child's standardised scores in English, maths and reasoning.

Families with an online account can log on after 5pm to view their child's results and test scores if they have retained their log-in and password details.

Letters will also be sent to those 16, 656 on Thursday afternoon to arrive on doormats on Friday.

KCC's cabinet member for children, young people and education Roger Gough said: "We understand that this can be a stressful time for families and we try to make the process of deciding on the most appropriate secondary education for their children as straightforward as possible."

A Kent grammar school assessment does not guarantee a child will be offered a Kent grammar school place and parents now need to enter the secondary school selection process alongside all other families.

If more children apply for places than a school can accommodate the school will use its 'oversubscription criteria' to decide which children it can take.

KCC says it anticipates the 4,641 Kent children assessed as being suitable for a grammar school place will, in most cases, enjoy priority for the 5,214 grammar school places available over pupils from other authorities.

"We understand that this can be a stressful time for families and we try to make the process of deciding on the most appropriate secondary education for their children as straightforward as possible..." - Cllr Roger Gough, KCC

"Although many of the 3,065 pupils from outside Kent will name our schools among their choices, experience has shown that most of these children ultimately secure places in their own local authority, added Cllr Gough.

Families have until Wednesday, October 31, to submit an application for their child's secondary school place and can name up to four schools in order of preference.

National offer day is March 1, 2019.