Which school should I put first?
You should name the schools in the order you most want them. If you would like a grammar school place, you must name the grammar school(s) you want higher on your form than the non-selective schools; otherwise you may be given a high school place, regardless of whether your child passed the Kent Test. It is no longer the case that if you want a place at a particular high school you have to put it first on the application form. Schools do not know which order you have put them on the application form and therefore cannot use it to rank order students if they are over-subscribed. Please contact the school if you need clarification on this issue, because there is still a lot of misinformation being given out since the system changed. 

What happens if my child is offered a place at Dane Court?
You must confirm acceptance of your place immediately and return the school’s admission form together with your child’s birth certificate, which will be returned to you. If you delay in accepting a place, it may be offered to another student. If we are over-subscribed, your son's/daughter’s name will be put on a waiting list.

Is it possible to get a place at Dane Court if my child has put another school as first choice?
Yes. When places are allocated children are prioritised according to the school's oversubscription criteria, not where parents named them on their application form.

Although I applied for Dane Court my child has been offered a place at another school. How can I pursue a place at Dane Court?
Even though Dane Court may not have been your preferred choice on your application form, if you have been turned down but still want a place at the school, you need to write a letter of appeal to Dane Court, stating the reasons, name of primary school and the test scores. If there is space available and your child would be next on the waiting list, an automatic offer can be made without a hearing in front of a panel. However, if the school is oversubscribed, you will be given a hearing with an independent appeal panel who will make the decision to admit, if appropriate. Please let the other school know as soon as you have secured a place at Dane Court so the school you have declined can offer the place to someone on their waiting list.
If your child is due to start secondary school in September 2023 you can appeal between 1 March and 28 March 2023 to be considered on time and to guarantee the appeal is heard within the normal round of school appeals. For applications made in the normal admission round, appeals must be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals.  For late applications, appeals should be heard within 40 schools days from the deadline for lodging appeals where possible, or within 30 schools days of the appeals being lodged.

What happens if my child does not pass the Kent Test?
If your child does not obtain the required scores to gain admission to Dane Court but you believe they are best suited to a grammar school education, please put Dane Court on the Common Application Form. This will mean that you can appeal for a place at the school in March after you have been informed of the high school that has been awarded to them. You need to do this before 28 March at the latest, otherwise you will miss having your appeal heard alongside other Year 6 appeals. The appeals panel does not make any decision about offering places until all appeals that were submitted by 28 March have been heard for Year 6 into Year 7. Each appeal hearing usually takes 20-30 minutes. The high number of appeals usually means that this can take around two weeks. These usually take place in late May or early June. 

Students who have taken the Kent Test in Year 6 cannot take another test for admission into Year 7. Dane Court cannot offer places based on KS2 SATs results. You can appeal to as many schools as you wish as long as you have applied and been turned down for a place at the school you wish to pursue. If you have not put Dane Court Grammar School on your Common Application Form, you will not be able to appeal for a place at the school until after 26 April when the Kent system has finished. This may lead to a delay in your appeal being heard, thus reducing your chances of gaining a place at the school. It is important that you find out the results of the Kent Test for your son/daughter from your primary school if you do not know them. The fact that the Kent Test is taken early should not disadvantage Year 6 students. The top 25% of children who take the test usually attain the pass mark. 

How can my child take the Kent Test if the official testing dates have been missed?
If your son/daughter has not taken the Kent Test, please contact Kent County Admissions for advice.

New to Kent?
If you are moving into Kent, you need to contact Kent County Council about making an application to a secondary school.