Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test (STT) timeline

Free childcare may be available. Check gov.uk/find-free-early-education.

Read to your child every day, count, do puzzles. Build the early literacy and numeracy foundations that underpin later verbal and numerical reasoning.

Apply for a primary school place in Buckinghamshire. The deadline is January of the year before your child starts.

Your child should be beginning to read independently. Keep in regular contact with their teacher about progress in numeracy, literacy, and science.

No applications at this stage. Begin exploring Buckinghamshire’s secondary schools. There are 13 grammar schools across the county. Review Ofsted reports at reports.ofsted.gov.uk.

No applications at this stage.

Continue researching the 13 Buckinghamshire grammar schools and their individual admissions policies. Many use catchment areas as part of their oversubscription criteria — check this carefully if you live near a county boundary.

Note: the Buckinghamshire test result qualifies children for Buckinghamshire grammar schools only. If you’re considering schools in neighbouring counties (e.g. Berkshire, Hertfordshire), those have entirely separate tests and registration processes.

Attend open days at secondary schools in and around Buckinghamshire. CGP and Bond GL Assessment books (look for age 8–9) are well-suited to this stage for early skill-building in verbal and non-verbal reasoning. A general KS2 primary tutor can support the curriculum at this stage.

Consider starting specialist 11+ tuition, perhaps one session per fortnight. The Secondary Transfer Test covers verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, and mathematics — all via GL Assessment.
Use age 9–10 CGP and Bond GL books. Online platforms such as Atom Learning are useful supplements.

Begin considering home address relative to grammar school catchments. For most schools, the address used for admissions purposes is fixed as of 1 September of Year 6, so any planned house move should factor this in.

Children at state-funded Buckinghamshire primary schools are automatically entered for the Secondary Transfer Test. No registration is required.

If your child attends any other school (including state schools in Milton Keynes, partner schools outside Bucks, or independent schools), you must register during the window, which typically opens in May and closes in early June of Year 5. For the 2027 entry cycle, registration runs 1 May to 2 June 2026. Check buckinghamshire.gov.uk for the current cycle’s dates.

If your child requires special access arrangements (e.g. extra time), these must be applied for by your child’s headteacher — contact them well in advance of the registration deadline.

Increase tuition to weekly. Attend grammar school open days, which are typically held in September and October of Year 5.
Consider a mock test in the Summer Term of Year 5. Keep reading every day.

For most grammar schools, 1 September is the cut-off date for the home address used in the first round of place allocations. If your address changes after this date, your previous address will be used until the second round. Always check the admissions policy of each individual school, as some use an earlier date.

Test venue details will be emailed to parents by 8 August. Do check your spam folder if you don’t receive them. You cannot choose your test date, time, or venue.

The Practice Test is held approximately two days before the main test (for the 2027 entry cycle, this is 8 September 2026). It is a shorter paper designed to help children understand the format before the real thing.

The Secondary Transfer Test takes place two days later (10 September 2026 for the 2027 entry cycle). It consists of two papers of approximately 60 minutes each, with a break in between, covering verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, and mathematics.

Children at Buckinghamshire state primary and partner schools sit both tests in school during the school day. All other children sit them at a grammar school test centre (limited capacity; a later date may be arranged if capacity is exceeded).

Final push on exam technique and timings. Your child should know what to expect. Run through the format with their tutor.

Secondary Transfer Test results are released on 9 October 2026 (for 2027 entry), by email after 4pm.

Results show your child’s age-standardised score. A score of 121 or above is the qualifying threshold for Buckinghamshire grammar schools. Children scoring below 121 are usually not eligible, though exceptions exist via Selection Review, Admission Appeal, or Pupil Premium entitlement.

If your child did not qualify but you wish to appeal, you should still include a grammar school preference on your application form.

Secondary school Common Application Form (CAF) deadline: 31 October. Submit via your home Local Authority. List each preferred Buckinghamshire grammar school by name. Qualifying in the test alone is not sufficient, and you must also list the school on your CAF.

One test result covers all 13 Buckinghamshire grammar schools. If you are also applying to grammar schools in other counties (e.g. Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire), note that those require entirely separate registration and test processes.