The number of children from private schools passing the Kent Test has dramatically dropped, it has been revealed.

Education experts say the sharp decline undermines a key message about many private primary schools in the county which sell themselves on helping get pupils a prized grammar school place in the state system.

On average, private schools charge fees of about £5,000 a term.

It will also surprise many as public schools can train pupils to sit the 11-plus exam, while Kent County Council does not permit schools to coach children in state-run primaries.

According to data, in 2019, before the pandemic, a total of 655 private school pupils sat the Kent Test with just over 59% gaining the marks required for selective education.

Securing the pass mark makes pupils eligible to apply for grammar schools but does not guarantee a place.

But in 2023, 610 sat the test and just under 25% passed.

That compares with mainstream schools where 11,206 pupils took the test and 5,069 scored highly enough to be able to apply for a grammar place. That’s the equivalent of a 45% pass rate. Only those parents wanting their children to sit the test do so in both private or state-run schools.

Grammar schools traditionally take around 25% of Kent’s state school pupils

Peter Read is a former Gravesend Grammar head and education expert who obtained the details through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

He said: “When I first saw the figures I was utterly astonished.

“I find it incredible that three-quarters of children who have taken the Kent Test at private schools have failed.

“If you had a child at a private school and had sent them there to go to grammar school next, that figure would horrify you.

“One theory for the fall is that as many families have seen private primary schools as the best route to securing a grammar school place for their child in the past, rising fees are encouraging them to stay in state schools and switch to extensive coaching.

“The tutoring industry for the 11-plus has become almost industrialised now. People, I suspect, are saying, 'If we invest in expensive coaching, it's a lot cheaper than going to a private school'.”

The biggest falls in numbers found suitable for grammar school were, perhaps surprisingly, in the affluent west of the county.

Sevenoaks had seen 98 private school children found suitable for selective schools in 2019. By 2023 that had tumbled to just 27. Tunbridge Wells plunged from 129 to 54.

Just four private schools had over a third of those entered hitting the ‘pass’ mark required to be in with a chance of securing a berth at grammar school for the start of Year 7.

They were Beechwood in Tunbridge Wells (where 57.1% secured the necessary mark); Gad’s Hill in Gravesham (50%); Spring Grove in Ashford (48.1%); and Sutton Valence in Maidstone (42.1%). The figures, provided by Peter Read, reveal there is then a big gap to the next school with 32.1%,

Adds Mr Read: “What I suspect has happened is the population at private schools has changed. They appear to have children with lesser academic ability encouraged to do the 11-plus.

“And that supports the suggestion many are taking coaching over paying full term rates.”

The suggestion flies in the face of comments recently made by Simon Webb, former principal primary adviser for Kent state schools, who claimed hiring tutors to get your child into a grammar was pointless.

He said: “It’s quite simple - either a child has the ability to pass the 11-plus or they don’t.

“A child who has been tutored makes little difference to the scores in testing. While you can fine-tune a child in taking the test - what they cannot do is add ability to a child.

“I can see why it’s happening but I don’t see what difference it will make - I think the parents are wasting their money.”

His views are unlikely to gain much traction from the thousands of parents who have invested in the coaching ahead of their children sitting the Kent Test and will, inevitably, continue to do so.

Figures also revealed that the success rate of those children from outside the county sitting the Kent Test has risen by 27% since pre-pandemic 2019.

In total, some 3,893 children living outside Kent’s borders secured the required mark for grammar eligibility from the 8,962 who sat the Kent Test. That’s almost a 67% success rate. That figure includes a small percentage who secured eligibility through what is known as a ‘Headteachers Assessment’.

However, adds Peter Read, only around 10% of that number will go on to be offered a place at a Kent state grammar.

He explained: “A high proportion of the remainder will have been entered for the Kent Test process by parents with no intention of applying for Kent grammar schools, but simply to give practice under test conditions for applications to grammar schools in other parts of the country, notably around the M25 ring.”

The bulk of those getting a ‘pass’ came from neighbouring Bexley, Bromley and Medway.

However, those entering included pupils from as far away as Slough, Windsor and Milton Keynes – which is almost 100 miles away from the county.

A high proportion will have been entered for the Kent Test process by parents with no intention of applying for Kent grammar schools

The Independent Schools Council – which represents private schools around the country – were approached for comment but did not respond.