Introduction to the Buckinghamshire Transfer Test (Bucks 11 Plus)
To apply for a place at a Buckinghamshire grammar school, your child will need to pass the Buckinghamshire Transfer Test (11 Plus exam). The Buckinghamshire test is provided by GL Assessment and the pass mark is 121. Children born between 1st September 2013 and 31st August 2014 will take the exam on Thursday 12th September 2024 to secure a Buckinghamshire grammar place for September 2025.
Hi Marie, a very big thank you to you and your staff in preparing Rohan (Beaconsfield Sat 930am class) for his 11 Plus. He passed the Bucks test with a score of 131. The tuition course was well structured and organised with prompt replies to emails. A very positive first experience of going through the 11 Plus process. We will be in touch soon to prepare our two younger children.
Year 5 parent, Ickenham (2018)
Hello Marie,We are happy to share with you that he scored 157 in Buckinghamshire and 115 in CEM. Please pass this message on to Sarah and Craig as well. Thank you so much for supporting him in his 11+ preparation. Thanks n Regards
Year 5 parent, Amersham (2022)
I am very pleased to say she passed her 11+ with a good score of 134. Thank you very much for your support, we are delighted with the outcome :)
Year 5 parent, Chesham (2022)
I very pleased to let you know that our daughter passed her 11+ test. Thank you very much for the support, the expertise and the professionalism that you and your team have demonstrated time and time again.
Year 5 parent, Tylers Green (2022)
He got 125, so we are really happy that he passed it. Thank you for all your support with his preparation.
Year 5 parent, Little Chalfont (2022)
He passed his 11 plus he got a score of 124. We are very pleased he has come a long way. Thank you to both you and Anne the termly tests and reports helped me to know what areas he needed additional help on.
Year 5 parent, High Wycombe (2022)
She passed both the Slough and Bucks 11 plus with flying colours and we are hopeful she will join her sister in Burnham Grammar. She was so apprehensive that her nerves would have impacted her on the day but thankfully she managed to do fantastically well and all her hard work paid off. Can you please pass on my thanks to Naz. She was wonderful and I am told the lessons were enjoyable! The level of teaching has been truly amazing and my partner and I felt like it’s been more of an investment rather than anything else. I will hopefully have my youngest enrolled with you guys in the next year or so and will wholeheartedly recommend you to other parents.
Year 5 parent, Slough (2022)
Hope you are well. Writing to let you know that she has cleared her Bucks 11+ transfer test. She got a score of 132. Please convey our thanks to Leanne for all the support and guidance.
Year 5 parent, Chalfont St Giles (2022)
My daughter started year 5 and she enjoyed studying there for the whole year. Her teacher Sarah was very good at teaching 11+ strategies across all subjects. She passed Kendrick, Buckinghamshire and Wallinghton Girls.
Thank you for the whole team.[From Google Review. The location of the parent/child has been excluded as their name is featured on Google]
Year 6 parent, Location Confidential (2023)
I just wanted to let you know that D has passed his 11+ exam for Buckinghamshire and as you can imagine, he is very happy. We will be applying for our local grammar school in Aylesbury. Thank you for all your support and I would also appreciate it if you could inform his teacher, Anne, about it as well.
Year 5 parent, Aylesbury (2022)
He scored 129 at Bucks and 113 at Slough 11+. He is very happy about his result and excited to apply for the same school as his brother (Royal Grammar school). Many thanks for your help and support in this learning journey,
Year 5 parent, High Wycombe (2022)
I am happy to share that Shayan passed the Buckinghamshire test with a score of 123. Many thanks to you and the team. He thoroughly enjoyed his virtual lessons and these kept him engaged with the learning process throughout covid and lockdown.
Year 6 parent, Iver (2021)
Ayana did extremely well and passed both the Slough and Buckinghamshire exams ( with top scores )
She also attended the book club & thoroughly enjoyed it
Thank you so much for the journey that started 3 years ago
Highly recommend[From Google Review. The location of the parent/child has been excluded as their full name is featured on Google]
Year 6 parent, Location Confidential (2022)
She got 126 so we have already applied for Buckinghamshire Grammar schools. Thank you for teaching her.
Year 6 parent, Chesham (2021)
The lessons are very well organised and the communication is clear. The teachers are very nice and approachable. My son enjoyed his lessons at MRT and was happy to pass both Slough and Bucks 11+ tests![From Google Review. The location of the parent/child has been excluded as their full name is featured on Google]
Year 6 parent, Location Confidential (2022)
She passed and received a score of 125! Thank you for all your help with her studies, we really appreciate all your hard work
Year 5 parent, High Wycombe (2022)
She scored 136 in the GL and 116 in the CEM. That’s all 3 children that have passed both tests and I would like to thank you and the teachers for their excellent preparation.
Year 6 parent, Beaconsfield (2021)
He passed GL. We are very pleased with his progress over the year and feel that he has learned a lot from the process - content, focus, practice and exam-technique. I felt that he became more confident and started to mature a bit too.
Year 6 parent, Ickenham (2021)
Hope you’re well.He has passed his exams with good marks. He’s got 143 at GL and 117 at Slough .We would like to say a huge thank- to all of you,and a special mention to his teacher Gulnaz for all the help and support given to him.Good luck with all your future endeavours.
Year 5 parent, High Wycombe (2022)
Dear Marie, she smashed her 11+ with 147 in Bucks and 125 in Berkshire. Thanks so much.
Year 5 parent, Iver (2022)
Our son Ryan recently completed years 4 and 5 with Marie Redmond tuition and has just scored a good pass in the Secondary Transfer Test. We can’t thank Marie and the team (particularly Sarah) enough. What seemed an insurmountable task at the start of year 4 was broken down into a well structured and progressive process that never overwhelmed him and took him to the point where he walked into the exam on the day confident that he was well prepared. In particular the regular tests that Ryan had taken throughout years 4 and 5 and also the mocks he sat in the summer just before meant that he took exam day (and the build up to it) in his stride. Thanks again to Marie and the team.[From Google Review. The location of the parent/child has been excluded as their name is featured on Google]
Year 6 parent, Location Confidential (2023)
He passed and scored 130 which are really pleased with, next will be getting him into the school of his choice! Thank you for the great courses and tuition, they definitely played a part in his success!
Year 5 parent, Marlow (2022)
Thank you for your kind message. Please send our best wishes and regards to Leanne for helping her get through this year. We are so pleased and she is so happy.
Year 5 parent, Ickenham (2022)
I am happy to share that he passed the Buckinghamshire test with a score of 123. Many thanks to you and the team. He thoroughly enjoyed his virtual lessons and these kept him engaged with the learning process throughout covid and lockdown.
Year 6 parent, Iver (2021)
I’m delighted to say she passed with a score of 132.
Year 5 parent, Marlow (2022)
We are extremely pleased to tell you that she passed the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test with an amazing score of 143. Please pass on our heartfelt thanks to the team and especially Sarah for helping her through the process.
Year 6 parent, Amersham (2021)
Just wanted to let you know she passed her 11+ Scoring 136. Thank you for all your help and support during the time and a very big thank you to Sarah who has been an amazing teacher, she always looked forward to Saturday classes .
You guys doing a good job.
The Buckinghamshire (GL Assessment) exam consists of two papers, taken on the same day, each approximately 60 minutes in duration and testing three areas – verbal, mathematical and non-verbal reasoning skills.
The first paper tests verbal skills, including comprehension, English technical language and verbal reasoning.
The second paper tests non-verbal reasoning, spatial reasoning and maths.
All questions on both papers are multiple choice and pupils indicate their answers on a separate answer sheet.
A familiarisation booklet, produced by GL Assessment, contains information about the content of the tests, some advice about taking the tests and a few sample questions. You can see the most recent booklet here > You can also find example papers on the website of GL Assessment.
Registration for the 2024 exam (for children who attend partner schools and out of county schools), opened at 10am on Friday 3rd May 2024 and will close at 3pm on Friday 14th June 2024.
The scores from both papers are added together and ‘age standardised’ to make it fair for pupils of all ages. To meet the necessary standard for a Buckinghamshire grammar school, your child will need to achieve a score of 121 or more.
29% of children who live in Buckinghamshire Council Districts and sat the exam in 2020 (for 2021 entry) achieved a score of 121 or above and qualified automatically for a place at one of Buckinghamshire’s thirteen grammar schools. After appeals and reviews were heard, 33% qualified.
Of all children who sat the exam in 2020 (including those living in Buckinghamshire and out of county), 37% scored 121 or above and a total of 41% qualified after appeals.
The final statistics for the 2021 exam (reflecting appeals and partner school data) will be available in the autumn of 2022.*
Not all independent schools make their results publicly available however Buckinghamshire Council statistics show that:
62.6%† of pupils from Partner Schools, who sat the exam in 2020, qualified for a grammar place.
27.8%‡ of pupils from Local Authority Schools in Buckinghamshire, who sat the exam in 2020, qualified for a grammar place. As some students attending Local Authority Schools in Buckinghamshire were withdrawn from the test, only 23.2% of all their pupils secured a grammar place.
After appeals, 40.1% of all pupils who sat the exam in 2020 qualified for a grammar place (including Partner Schools, Buckinghamshire Local Authority and out of county schools).
† 717 pupils from Partner Schools took the 2020 Buckinghamshire 11 Plus Test. Of these, 449 were eligible for Grammar (401 achieved a score of 121 or more and 48 became eligible after a successful review).
‡ 5,359 pupils from Local Authority Schools in Buckinghamshire took the 2020 Buckinghamshire 11 Plus Test. Of these, 1,489 were eligible for Grammar (1,277 achieved a score of 121 or more and 212 became eligible after a successful review). 6,423 pupils were on roll for the application process but 1,064 were withdrawn.
The Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools (TBGS) has made available the 11 Plus results for all Local Authority Schools in Buckinghamshire. You can find the latest data on the website of TBGS.
If you want your child to be considered for entry to a Buckinghamshire grammar school in September 2025, you will be required to name the relevant school or schools on the Common Application Form (CAF).
Common Application Forms will open online at the beginning of September 2024 and you will have until the end of31st October 2024 to submit it to your Local Authority.
School places for September 2025 will be confirmed on 1st March 2025.
If you live within Buckingamshire, you can name up to 6 schools on your CAF; however some areas differ and may allow you to select fewer schools (please check with your local authority). Schools must be listed in your preferred order.
You will need to submit the CAF to the Local Authority in which you reside. If you live outside Buckinghamshire, you must apply through your own Local Authority – even if your child currently attends a Buckinghamshire Local Authority primary school.
If your child is not offered a place at your first preference school, they will be allocated a lower preference school and placed on the waiting list of any school that is higher up on your order of preference but for which you have not been offered a place. For 2024 entry, the waiting lists will remain in place until 31st December 2024 (the end of your child’s first term in Year 7). Once school places are confirmed on 1st March 2024, further rounds of allocations from the waiting lists will be made as places in schools are accepted and rejected.
It is likely that you will not be consulted about the waiting list process; your local authority regard your common application preferences as a set of instructions that they will try and fulfil. For example, on 1st March you may be allocated a place at your third preference school, which you sensibly choose to accept. You will then be placed on the waiting list for your first and second preference schools. If in one of the later rounds of allocations, a space becomes available at your second preference school, your third preference place will disappear and your child will be allocated their second preference school. This process happens automatically, so it is very important that if you are happy with the allocation that you have received, that you inform your local authority that you wish to be taken off the waiting lists of any higher preference schools.
What Is Required to Pass the Buckinghamshire 11 Plus?
Verbal skills, i.e. English and Verbal Reasoning (approx. 50% of the mark)
Comprehension
Verbal reasoning (the production of words, relationships between words, letters and numbers)
Vocabulary
Spelling
Grammar
Punctuation
Numerical Reasoning (approx. 25% of the mark)
Basic skills (addition, multiplication, division and subtraction)
Mental maths development
Problem solving techniques
Extracting information from graphs and tables
Averages
Foundation algebra concepts
Fractions, decimals and percentages
Ratio and proportion
Area and volume
2d and 3d shapes
Non-verbal skills (25% of the mark)
Spatial awareness
Logical deduction skills
Mathematical concepts such as symmetry, rotation and reflection
Identifying relationships, similarities and differences between figures
Identifying sequences between shapes
Data-Led Approach With SuccessTrack® by Marie Redmond
Our term time students are assessed twice during each team – at half term and at the end of term. Based on the outcome of their initial assessment, we will create a tuition plan that sets their individual targets for each area they are preparing for (e.g. verbal, non-verbal and numerical reasoning). All lessons throughout the course are then designed to develop these areas. We continually monitor our student's progress; this means that we can check they’ve achieved their individual targets and revise their tuition plan to ensure that it suits their needs and challenges. Parents are always welcome to get in touch with us at any time during your child’s tuition, to gain feedback on their development.
SuccessTrack® by Marie Redmond is our unique data-led service that allows parents to:
Track their child’s progress over the Year 4 and 5 term time courses - our charts visualise a students' performance in each area of the 11 Plus, using data from our regular assessments (2 per term).
See their child's overall score and how that compares to our recommended pass mark for each exam they are planning to sit.
View anonymously how their child's scores compare (for each topic area and at a total level) to the average of all children in their cohort.
View their child's termly tuition plan, created using data from their assessments.
Read the end of term student report from their child's teacher.
Marie Redmond's Superbrain® 11+ Resources
A range of Marie Redmond's Superbrain®Books are provided exclusively to students on our courses. Using the knowledge gained during her eleven years of preparing students for the 11+ and independent school entrance exams, Marie Redmond MEd has written a number of verbal reasoning, English and maths books. Additionally, a range of verbal reasoning holiday course books are provided exclusively to students attending our Year 5 11+ Easter and 11+ summer holiday courses.
Marie Redmond's Superbrain® 11 Plus Flash Cards are given to all our term time students when they join, to supercharge their vocabulary skills.
Marie Redmond's Superbrain® Books for Year 5 11+ Tuition Courses in Buckinghamshire
Marie Redmond's Superbrain® Books for Year 5 11+ Intensive Holiday Courses in Buckinghamshire
Marie Redmond's Superbrain® Books for Year 4 11+ Tuition Courses in Buckinghamshire
The Marie Redmond Tuition® Book Club
Sharing our enjoyment of books is a fantastic way to encourage reading and therefore develop vocabulary and comprehension at home. The Marie Redmond Tuition® Book Club is an excellent platform for discussions about books, opportunities for creativity and promoting reading for pleasure. Discover our book of the month.
Creative Writing Course
Creative Writing Course
The virtual creative writing course is taught by our experienced teacher, Anne, who has an immense passion for reading and writing and leads our Book Club, in addition to teaching 11+ courses. This option is particularly useful for boys preparing for the Reading School 11+ exam but is open to all our students.
Students attend one creative writing lesson per week on Zoom, which lasts for 45 minutes. During every lesson they participate in a fun writing skills warm-up activity which might focus on grammar or a literary device, they might read and analyse a writing example or use a story prompt, and then work on creating their own text.
Every week there is a focus which can include story settings, characters, openings, events / problems and resolutions. Students practise writing in a variety of formats such as stories, plays, newspaper articles and letters. They are taught to use a variety of literary techniques and we show them how to draft their work, as well as reviewing and editing.
Homework is set every week. Students build upon the tasks in their lesson to create their own text. The texts are then reviewed at the start of the next lesson.
One lesson per week on Zoom, lasting 45 minutes. Tuesdays at 4:30 pm, 5:30 pm or 6:30 pm.
For further information, including fees, term dates and FAQ's, please visit our creative writing course page.
11+ Mock Exams With Marie Redmond 11+ Intelligent Video Learning®
Students who sat our Buckinghamshire 11+ mock tests in 2023 said they were very similar to the actual test, which made them feel prepared and confident when sitting the exam.
Our Buckinghamshire 11 Plus Tuition Courses prepare pupils for all aspects of the GL Assessment exam
Using the knowledge gained during her eleven years of preparing students for the 11+ and independent school entrance exams, Marie Redmond MEd has written a number of verbal reasoning, English and maths books. Additionally, a range of verbal reasoning holiday course books are provided exclusively to students attending our Year 5 11+ Easter and 11+ summer holiday courses.
Sharing our enjoyment of books is a fantastic way to encourage reading and therefore develop vocabulary and comprehension at home. The Marie Redmond Tuition® Book Club is an excellent platform for discussions about books, opportunities for creativity and promoting reading for pleasure. Discover our book of the month.
Students practise writing in a variety of formats such as stories, plays, newspaper articles and letters. They are taught to use a variety of literary techniques and we show them how to draft their work, as well as reviewing and editing.
Get exam ready with Marie Redmond Tuition® GL Assessment-style Buckinghamshire 11 Plus Mock Exams.