Grammar Schools in Buckinghamshire

Parents will receive a standardised score for their child, age-weighted and based on the two papers. The pass mark for the SET is 121; this means your child has been assessed as suitable for grammar school. Higher scores do not result in a higher chance of being accepted into a Buckinghamshire grammar school. The mark is expressed as a ‘Secondary Transfer Test Score’ (STTS).

The Bucks Secondary Transfer Test is written by GL Assessment. A small number of practice questions are included in the familiarisation booklet. GL Assessment is a organisation which provides the questions for many school entrance exams used in the UK, both for the grammar and independent sector.

The Buckinghamshire 11 Plus test takes place in early September. The date is set by Buckinghamshire Council and cannot be changed. State-funded primary schools will offer a practice test two days before the actual exam.

Students who attend any state funded primary school in Buckinghamshire are automatically registered for the Secondary Transfer Test. Students do not have to sit the test. Students who live outside of Buckinghamshire, including those in Milton Keynes, need to register. This includes children attending private / Prep schools.

Parents must register directly with Buckinghamshire Council for Secondary Transfer Testing. At the time of writing, registration opened in the May of Year 5, and the deadline to register was just over a month later in the June of Year 5. The council does not normally accept late registrations, and requires what they call “exceptional reasons” for this. Parents who move into Buckinghamshire by the June of Year 5 are given a slightly later registration deadline. Students living outside of the UK will not be allowed to sit the exam.

Further information is available here: https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/schools-index/school-admissions/grammar-schools-and-transfer-testing-11/register-for-the-secondary-transfer-test/.

Students from outside of Buckinghamshire can apply to sit the exam, but must register as above.

The Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test is split into two papers. Each of these papers last about an hour, with about 45 minutes for the test itself and 15 minutes at the start with audio instructions. (The audio instructions are played from a soundtrack, instead of being read out).

Both papers are sat on the same day. There is a short break between the two papers, so the whole process takes a little over two hours.

The first paper is on “Verbal Skills”. This covers non verbal reasoning and Mathematics. Each subject has around 20 minutes of testing time, with around 5 minutes of subject specific instruction before each.

The second paper is on “Mathematical & Non-Verbal Skills”. This covers non verbal reasoning and Mathematics. Again, each subject has around 20 minutes of testing time, with around 5 minutes of subject specific instruction before each.

Parents whose children attend a state primary n Buckinghamshire should be sent a “familiarisation booklet”, which contains all useful information regarding the test. This can be downloaded here:

https://buckinghamshire-gov-uk.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/Buckinghamshire_Familiarisation_Booklet.pdf

Like many grammar school assessments, children will be guided through the papers at a set pace, and so cannot really finish early. (Children are told to stop working at the end of a given page and wait until they are told to turn it.)

The Buckinghamshire STT is administered by GL Assessment. The test consists of two separate papers, each lasting 60 minutes, with a break in between. The papers assess verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, and mathematics. Two days before the test date, children at state-funded primary schools in Buckinghamshire will also sit a practice test.

The test assesses four main areas: verbal reasoning, English, non verbal reasoning and mathematical skills. In English, only comprehension is assessed.

The entire exam is conducted in a multiple choice format. This means that children will be given a question and (usually) five possible answers, and are asked to select one of these answers. They do this by marking one of five boxes in a grid.

The verbal reasoning paper assesses the following:

• language comprehension
• vocabulary
• grammar

The mathematical skills paper assesses the following:

• basic mathematical understanding
• problem solving ability
• ability to interpret patterns

Children are told specifically to bring two regular HB pencils and a rubber / eraser. They are specifically told not to bring and of the following:

• ruler
• propelling pencils
• spare paper
• a protractor
• a calculator

Perhaps obviously, children are not allowed to bring mobile phones or tablets. They are also asked to not wear watches, or any device that can connect to the internet.

The pass mark for the Buckinghamshire STT is 121. Standardised scores from the two papers are added together and an overall mark is assigned. Once a child has achieved this score they have been assessed as suitable for grammar school and parents can then apply to a grammar school on their behalf, taking careful note of any school-specific admissions criteria.

Around 37% of children who take the test will achieve a mark of 121 or over, meaning they will be considered suitable for grammar school.

Each paper contains between 50 and 60 questions. These questions are split between the areas as mentioned before. The specific number can vary each year.

Parents wishing to appeal the results of the Secondary Transfer Test  can apply for what is called a “Selection Review”. This needs to happen soon after results are published. Here, parents are invited to explain why a grammar school education is best suited to their child, despite them not hitting the pass mark. Anyone can apply for this process, but it is only likely to have any chance of success if your child has achieved between 110 and 120 on the test (the pass mark is 121). In the most recent available data set at the time of writing, 923 children had their tests submitted for a Selection Review. Of these, 295 were approved (i.e. they were then qualified for all grammar schools in Buckinghamshire), and 628 were rejected. The lowest score that was successful in the review process in this data set was 91, but after this no other appeals were successful until a score of 108. Of the 295 children who were successful in the review process, all but 3 had a score of 110 or higher.

You can view detailed data about this process here:

https://www.thebucksgrammarschools.org/test-data

Parents must apply for the Selection Review inside a short time frame of receiving their results. After the Selection Review process, parents also have access to an “Independent Admission Appeal”.

The selection review panel (SRP) looks at each case individually and comes to a decision as to whether the child should be eligible for a grammar school place. The panel is made up of three headteachers, two from grammar schools and one from a primary school. They have all been given training and can only consider appeals from children they do not personally know. The panel will therefore come to an unbiased decision. If there is an additional need involved, an Educational Psychologist may also be invited to attend the panel.

The headteacher of your child’s current school will complete a ‘selection review summary sheet’. This gives information about Shri view of your child’s academic abilities. You can ask for this not to be sent to the panel. Additionally, you are expected to show evidence of high academic ability. This can come from school reports and evidence from your child’s class teacher. There is no need to send samples of school work.

Alongside the above, if applicable, you can also include evidence of mitigating circumstances such as bereavement, illness, or house moves. The panel will consider the academic evidence alongside any other evidence. They will then make a judgment as to whether your child is eligible for a grammar school place and assessed as grammar school standard. They will consider whether your child’s performance in the 11+ test was as expected, or if they underperformed on the day.

There are two possible results from the selection review: either your child is considered for a grammar school place or not. The results will come to parents in plenty of time before the March date for National Offer Day. If your child is unsuccessful you do have the right to lodge an admissions appeal for the school you are hoping your child to attend.