Parents with ambitions for their child to enter one of Kent’s grammar schools often worry about the best choice of primary – and rightly so it seems.

Figures reluctantly released by Kent County Council under a Freedom of Information request indicate that there is a huge disparity between the schools’ successes in getting pupils to pass the Kent Test – or 11-plus as it is still known to many.

In the Maidstone area, four schools failed to get any child through in last September’s exams, while one, Yalding St Mary’s, saw an astonishing 80 per cent of Year 6 pupils pass the test.

But Yalding was just pipped by the independent Shernolds school with an 81% pass rate.

Shernolds head teacher Sandra Dinsmore said: "I am thrilled and delighted with our Year 6 pupils. They have worked so hard and it has been a pleasure to follow their progress."

The children were undoubtedly helped by the school’s small classes. The school’s whole year group – 16 children – took the test and 13 passed.

*For a full breakdown of the Kent Test results see today's Kent Messenger.