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The Medway Test will be delayed until October due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Medway Council has announced today.
This year’s test has been pushed back to ensure children have the opportunity to settle back into school before the exam takes place.
It will now be held on October 13 and 14 for Medway pupils whose schools have opted for two-day testing, and on October 10 for students whose schools have chosen one-day testing.
Two weekends of testing will be held for out-of-area pupils on October 10-11 and 17-18 to ensure children are able to socially distance themselves from each other and from invigilators.
The council has sent a letter to the parents of all Year 5 pupils in Medway, through primary schools, to make them aware of the changes to this year's test.
Cllr Martin Potter, Medway Council’s portfolio holder for education and schools, said: "We hope that this will help reassure parents and carers who were worried that their children would not have enough time to settle back into school before sitting the test.
"I would also like to assure them that the minimum score required for pupils to be assessed as suitable for admission to a Medway grammar school is adjusted each year according to the overall performance of all the Medway students who take the test.
"We have also extended the deadline for secondary school applications to ensure children and their families receive the results of the test to ensure they can make informed choices about which schools they select on their application. We are committed to helping all of Medway’s children achieve their full potential."
Registration is open for the Medway Test until Monday, June 29. Those who register by the deadline will receive a familiarisation pack which will give examples of the format and layout of the test.
Children and their families will now find out if they have been assessed as grammar on November 2, and the deadline for Medway residents to submit their secondary school applications has been moved to November 30.
Families will still find out which school their child has been allocated a place at on National Offer Day, March 1, 2021.
A decision by Kent County Council (KCC) on the timing of the Kent Test is expected soon.
KCC remains tight-lipped over plans to delay the test, but in an email seen by KentOnline, the authority’s cabinet member for education and skills, Richard Long, says it will reveal “quite soon” details of its proposals “to enable selection to take place while being as fair as possible”.
