Kent County Council’s choice of a new 11-plus provider raises concerns that parents will feel pressured to buy preparation from the company behind the test.
Quest Assessments, part of Atom Learning, will take over the Kent Test from September 2027, for children entering secondary school in 2028.
Atom also sells online entrance-exam preparation to families. Its Exam Prep Plus package costs £671.90 for an annual subscription, and its website advertises “Replica Quest practice tests”.
Comprehensive Future feels this appointment raises questions about the relationship between publicly funded school admissions and commercial test preparation.
Joanne Bartley, campaign officer for Comprehensive Future, said: “Parents may understandably assume that the company behind the Kent Test is also the best place to buy preparation for it. That risks adding pressure to pay in a system already surrounded by anxiety.
“Kent County Council should explain how it will prevent its choice of test provider becoming an apparent endorsement of a paid for preparation product.”
The company’s own description of its business adds weight to those concerns. In its 2025 accounts, Atom’s directors describe exam preparation as its core market and assessments as a new business.
Joanne Bartley said the appointment may influence where Kent families spend their money. “If you’re a parent choosing between a local tutor and an online platform belonging to the company that provides the test, you may feel the provider’s platform is the safer bet.
“That doesn’t mean it offers an advantage over other preparation. But parents may worry that choosing anything else means their child could miss out. The perception alone could shift business towards Atom, or persuade families to buy a subscription on top of existing tuition. We know test tuition is big business, and Kent families seeking grammar school entry feel pressured to pay. The Kent Test is a competitive exam, and if everyone else is hiring tutors, it’s natural to want the same advantage. Kent has an awful school system that costs parents cash, and Kent County Council’s choice of test provider will only make this worse. ”
Atom offers free accounts to children eligible for pupil premium. However, CF feels this also raises a wider question about the role preparation plays in selection.
“Free preparation for disadvantaged children is an attempt to fix this flawed system, and it’s a well intentioned plan,” Bartley said. “But if preparation is valuable enough to offer as a way of improving access, other parents will understandably want its benefits too.
“Families who don’t qualify for free access may still struggle to afford a tuition subscription. They are left deciding whether they can afford to pay—and worrying about whether they can afford not to.”
KCC claim the change of provider will leave the Kent Test’s structure, timing and purpose unchanged, with some free familiarisation materials continuing to be available. However, a Schools Week investigation recently highlighted the expense of 11-plus test materials sold by test providers, making the point that Quest Assessments sets 11-plus tests while running a test tuition business.
Comprehensive Future would like KCC to explain what safeguards will separate the test contract from the sale of preparation, what materials candidates will receive for free, and how parents will be reassured about the availability of Quest’s paid-for tuition products.
“Changing the provider does not remove the inequalities surrounding the 11-plus,” Bartley said. “Families still have different amounts of money, time and information to put into preparation. Parents need clear reassurance that buying a product from the company behind the test is not an unofficial entry fee for a chance of a grammar school place.”
