Council 'learning lessons' after pupils and parents left confused over Medway Test

Medway Council has apologised for creating 'confusion' for children sitting this year's Medway Test.

The test decides which pupils can go to grammar school next year.

The time allocated for the English part of the exam was 30 minutes but many pupils and parents understood that it would run for up to an hour.

The council says the misunderstanding will not be a basis for appeal by children who fail the test, and that the one hour was 'a guideline' for parents.

Cllr Tracey Coombs, Portfolio Holder for Education at Medway Council said; "This year we introduced the English test for the first time so people would not have had experience of this test before.

"In the communications that we sent out we stated that no test would be more than one hour and this was meant to be a guideline for parents so that they realise there was a limit on the maximum amount of time.

"Unfortunately some people interpreted this as each test would in fact last for one hour and this was not the case.

"It's a stressful time for parents and for children and the last thing we wanted to do was add to any anxiety that they may feel."

The council added that they don't advise that pupils need to be tutored for the test, and that it was specifically designed to 'last for the time that was given, and so it was an appropriate amount of time for the questions that were asked.'

• Cllr Tracey Coombs, Portfolio Holder for Education at Medway Council

Cllr Coombs added: :We're absolutely learning a lesson from this.

"We don't want parents to feel stressed or children and so we'll be looking closely at how we communicate next year.

"When we send the letter out to parents advising them of the test arrangements, we'll make sure that we include more details about the length of each individual test so that they're able to prepare their children appropriately."

Asked if this could lead to appeals from pupils who have failed the test, she said: "All the pupils sat the same test, they were asked the same questions and were given the same length of time, so there was a level playing field here."

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