Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools 11+ Preparation

The Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test (STT) is the selective 11+ examination used by all 13 grammar schools in Buckinghamshire, set and marked by GL Assessment. Children who reach a standardised score of at least 121 qualify for a grammar school place; for September 2027 entry, the test was sat on 10 September 2026 and results were issued on 9 October 2026.

Why Families Target Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools

Buckinghamshire's 13 grammar schools are each their own admission authority, so entry criteria, catchment priorities and sixth-form arrangements differ from school to school even though every applicant sits the same countywide Secondary Transfer Test. Buckinghamshire Council administers the test on behalf of the 13 schools, known collectively as The Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools (TBGS).

Royal Grammar School, John Hampden Grammar School and Wycombe High School serve High Wycombe; Aylesbury Grammar School, Aylesbury High School and Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School serve Aylesbury; Dr Challoner's Grammar School (Amersham) and Dr Challoner's High School (Little Chalfont) serve the Chilterns; Sir William Borlase's Grammar School serves Marlow; Beaconsfield High School serves Beaconsfield; Burnham Grammar School serves Burnham; Chesham Grammar School serves Chesham; and Royal Latin School serves Buckingham. The full list, with each school's own website, is below.

Families choose them for their examination results, well-resourced sixth forms and a peer environment that motivates academically able children. If your child is in Year 5 or early Year 6 and you are weighing up whether the preparation commitment is worthwhile, the answer depends on fit — but for a child suited to selective education, a Buckinghamshire grammar place is genuinely transformative.

The 13 Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools

Every Year 7 applicant sits the same Secondary Transfer Test, but each of these 13 schools sets its own admission rules once a child has qualified:

The Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test — Format and Marking

The Secondary Transfer Test measures verbal, non-verbal and mathematical skills. Children sit two test papers, each about 60 minutes long, with a break between, and the test is produced by GL Assessment. Most children take the test during the autumn term of Year 6; for September 2027 entry, the Transfer Test was sat on 10 September 2026, after a shorter Practice Test on 8 September 2026 designed to familiarise children with the question styles.

Marking is standardised: each child's raw score is adjusted for their exact age on the day of the test, then weighted across the verbal, mathematical and non-verbal sections, so an older and a younger child answering the same number of questions correctly do not receive the same final score. Children who achieve a standardised score of at least 121 are considered qualified for a Buckinghamshire grammar school place; children who score below 121 are not qualified, though a lower score does not necessarily mean a child is unsuited to grammar education — see Selection Review, below.

For the full breakdown of question types and timings, see our Buckinghamshire 11+ Format Guide.

How Competitive Is Entry to Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools?

Buckinghamshire runs a selective system alongside its non-selective 'upper' schools: every child in the county can sit the Secondary Transfer Test, and a standardised score of at least 121 is needed to qualify for a grammar school place. There is no fixed number of raw marks to aim for, because the score is standardised for age and weighted by section before the 121 threshold is applied — so the same number of correct answers can qualify one child and not another, depending on the rest of that year's cohort.

Qualifying is not the end of the competition. Once a child is qualified, their test score plays no further part: places are allocated according to each grammar school's own admission rules — commonly distance from the school, sibling links or, for some schools, faith criteria — never by who scored highest. There are always more applications than places, so qualifying in the test does not guarantee an offer at a first-preference school.

Families near the Berkshire border sometimes weigh up Buckinghamshire's grammar schools alongside those covered by a neighbouring authority's own consortium testing — for example the grammar schools around Slough, which run entirely separate registration, tests and dates from the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test. Check each authority's own admissions pages directly, since requirements differ.

If Your Child Doesn't Qualify: Selection Review and Appeal

A child who scores below 121 is not automatically shut out of a Buckinghamshire grammar school. Two further routes exist: a Selection Review, and — if that is unsuccessful — an Admission Appeal. All 13 grammar schools also admit at least six unqualified children each year who are eligible for Pupil Premium funding, under their own admission rules.

A Selection Review is a written case explaining why a child would be best suited to a grammar school despite missing the qualifying score. It is considered by a Selection Review Panel (SRP) of two grammar school headteachers and one primary school headteacher, who are not told which schools the family applied for and do not sit on cases involving children known to them. Buckinghamshire Council's own guidance is direct about the odds: historically, most successful Selection Reviews have been for children who scored between 110 and 120, and children with lower scores are rarely successful. For 2027 entry, a Selection Review case must be submitted in full by 30 October 2026, and families are told the outcome by 12 February 2027.

If a Selection Review is unsuccessful, the family may lodge an Admission Appeal for any grammar school included in the original application, heard by an Independent Appeal Panel (IAP). Because a Selection Review was already used, the IAP first considers only whether that review was carried out in a 'fair, consistent and objective' manner; Buckinghamshire Council notes that the panel has historically found this to be the case in nearly every review it has examined, so an appeal succeeding on this ground alone is rare. The deadline to lodge a timely appeal falls near the end of March 2027, with hearings from May 2027.

Families who remain unsuccessful are not without options afterwards. In-year admissions can open a place at a Buckinghamshire grammar school later, if one becomes available, or a family may choose a non-selective Buckinghamshire 'upper' school and revisit grammar entry through the in-year process.

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Key Dates for September 2027 Entry

Every date below applies to children moving up to Year 7 in September 2027, as published by Buckinghamshire Council:

How to Prepare — A Realistic Timeline and Strategy

Serious preparation for the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test typically begins in Year 5, with structured work continuing through the summer before Year 6. A realistic timeline looks like this:

• Year 4 to early Year 5: Build strong foundations in core mathematics and reading. Introduce wider vocabulary through reading habits and targeted word work.
• Year 5 (from January): Begin familiarisation with the test's question formats. Introduce verbal, non-verbal and mathematical reasoning practice in short, regular sessions.
• Year 5 summer: Increase practice frequency. Begin timed work to build stamina and accuracy under pressure.
• Year 6 (September to test date): Focus on exam technique, timed full papers, and identifying specific weak areas for targeted work.

The most common preparation mistake is practising with materials modelled on a different test board's format — CEM-style papers, for instance, use different question styles to the GL Assessment format Buckinghamshire uses. Practice materials should be aligned to GL Assessment's verbal, non-verbal and mathematical reasoning style, and vocabulary development should run as a consistent thread throughout the entire preparation period — not something bolted on at the end.

How Leading Tuition Supports Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools Preparation

At Leading Tuition, we provide one-to-one specialist tutoring tailored to the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test. Our tutors build the verbal, non-verbal and mathematical reasoning skills the GL Assessment format rewards, alongside the wide vocabulary base that consistently makes the difference on test day. We do not use generic 11+ programmes — every child's preparation is built around their individual starting point, their timeline, and the specific Buckinghamshire grammar school they are targeting, whether that is Wycombe High School and John Hampden Grammar School in High Wycombe, one of the three Aylesbury schools, or a grammar school in Amersham, Marlow, Beaconsfield, Burnham, Chesham or Buckingham.

For families near the Berkshire border who are also considering a grammar school covered by a different authority's own testing, such as those around Slough, we structure preparation around each test's own format and timeline rather than a single generic programme. We work with children from Year 4 through to the test date, and we are honest with families about where their child stands and what is realistically achievable in the time available.

Our students have achieved an offer rate of 95%+ across selective school entry. Explore our full range of grammar school preparation guides, or book a free consultation to discuss a Buckinghamshire preparation plan.

Leading Tuition is rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 59 reviews, read on 3 October 2026, and 91% of our students achieve their desired grades.

Living abroad? Our guide to the Buckinghamshire transfer test for families overseas covers when a child living abroad can be tested, the late-testing route and the address dates the grammar schools use.

Reviewed September 2026: school list, test provider, qualifying score, key dates and the Selection Review process checked against Buckinghamshire Council's published guidance and each school's own website.

Frequently Asked Questions about Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools 11+ Entry