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Kent Test (11+) Services

Kent County Council

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

30 Sep 2026 at 18:19

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Kent County Council is procuring services to develop, produce, administer and deliver the countywide Kent Test (11+) assessment used in the secondary school admissions process. The work covers producing test materials, secure distribution, marking, processing results and associated operational support. The buyer is Kent County Council, based in Maidstone. The service is for delivery across Kent. This is an education assessment operation rather than a general school teaching service: suppliers need to support the end-to-end administration of a high-stakes admissions test across the county.

The procurement is complete and the contract was awarded to Atom Learning Limited, trading as Quest Assessments. The award date was 30 September 2026 and the awarded value is £835,000. The contract period runs from 2 November 2026 to 1 November 2028, with two optional 12-month extensions, allowing it to run until 1 November 2030. There was one lot. The competition used a limited competition under the Competitive Flexible procedure; three bids reached the final stage. The procurement description does not state evaluation criteria or supplier eligibility requirements.

For suppliers considering this requirement when it returns to market, the award demonstrates demand for an integrated assessment service supporting a countywide 11+ admissions test. Credible competitors would need to combine assessment development and test-material production with secure handling and distribution, marking, accurate results processing and dependable operational support. The work depends on coordinating these activities for a public-sector admissions process, with the ability to manage sensitive test materials and deliver consistent outputs across a broad geographic area. The selected supplier was an SME, and all three final-stage bidders were SMEs, indicating that smaller providers competed successfully in this procurement. Relevant experience in large-scale education assessment delivery and robust security and operational controls would therefore be important strengths.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Kent Test (11+) Services

Notice Description

Kent County Council intends to appoint a provider for the provision of services to support the development, production, administration and delivery of countywide Kent Test (11+) assessment process, including test material production, secure distribution, marking, results processing, and associated operational support for Kent County Council's secondary school admissions process. The contract will commence on 2nd November 2026, for an initial period of two years, with up to two optional 12 months extensions up to 1st November 2030 with an estimated value of PS835.000. Above threshold procurement using Competitive Flexible procedure (PA2023) previous notice identifier Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-06b227 For more information about this opportunity, please visit the eSourcing portal at: https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/tenders/UK-UK-Maidstone:-Primary-education-services./466H4KGHCJ To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/respond/466H4KGHCJ

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-077e21
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/092600-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Below threshold - limited competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

80100000 - Primary education services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£835,000 £500K-£1M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
30 Sep 20266 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
30 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Contract Period
2 Nov 2026 - 1 Nov 2028 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Kent County Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
MAIDSTONE
Postcode
ME14 1XQ
Postcode Area
Rochester
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ4 Kent
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ45 Mid Kent
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Maidstone
Electoral Ward
Penenden Heath
Westminster Constituency
Maidstone and Malling

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Atom Learning Limited

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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