Stay ahead with exclusive tips on the Buckinghamshire 11+ exam for Beaconsfield High School
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With a proven track record in preparing pupils for the 11 Plus, Marie Redmond MEd and her team of exceptional, fully qualified and experienced primaryteachers (not 'tutors') provide specialist tuition focused on your child’s individual learning needs.
Introduction to the Buckinghamshire Transfer Test (Bucks 11 Plus)
To apply for a place at a Buckinghamshire grammar school (including Beaconsfield High 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.
The GL 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 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 (including Beaconsfield High 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.
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 Bucks 11 Plus and help secure a place at Beaconsfield High School?
Verbal skills, i.e. English and Verbal Reasoning (50% of the mark)
Comprehension
Verbal reasoning (the production of words, relationships between words, letters and numbers)
Vocabulary
Spelling
Grammar
Punctuation
Mathematical skills (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
11+ Mock Exams With Marie Redmond 11+ Intelligent Video Learning®
Get exam ready with Marie Redmond Tuition® GL Assessment-style Buckinghamshire 11 Plus Mock Exams. Students who sat our Buckinghamshire mock exams in 2023 said they were very similar to the actual test, which made them feel prepared and confident when sitting the exam.
Marie Redmond's Superbrain® 11+ Resources
A range of Marie Redmond's Superbrain®Books are provided exclusively to students on our term time and holiday 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.
Our Range of Marie Redmond's Superbrain® Books for Year 5 Courses
Our Range of Marie Redmond's Superbrain® Books for Year 4 Courses
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 compares (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.
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.
The Marie Redmond Tuition® Creative Writing Course
Our virtual creative writing lessons take place weekly on Zoom and are particularly useful for boys preparing for the Reading School 11+ exam but are open to all our term time students.
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.
For further information, including fees, term dates and FAQ's, please visit our creative writing course page.
Our courses are led by qualified primary teachers and prepare pupils for all aspects of the Buckinghamshire 11 Plus
I’m pleased to say that he passed. Thanks for all your teams help.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2018)
William is settling nicely in year 6. We’re delighted that he passed his 11+ with a fantastically high score! Thanks for your support and I hope we’ll be as successful with our daughter.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2016)
He passed! Thank you for all your hard work with the groups. Couldn’t have done it without tuition for sure. We are very pleased.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2016)
I thought you’d like to know that he passed his 11plus – not with a whopping score but a pass is a pass. We are dead chuffed! Thank you for all your help.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2017)
Please pass on my thanks to Anne as she is lovely and I am really impressed with the work that you all do!
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2021)
Please see feedback from Cillian and myself and KenCillian:
He thought Sarah was a really good teacher and the class size was good. The amount of homework and knowing what they were getting each week helped me plan what I had to do.Fiona & Ken:Very well organised and structured. Total visibility of the work they are doing, results, where they had issues etc. Like the termly exams to get them used to the 11 plus format. Easy to communicate with the teacher when needed. Access to their exam papers and how they were tracking across the group was helpful. Felt the termly reports accurately reflected where Cillian was and where he was struggling and wasn’t a generic class update.We have been really happy with the tuition and 11 plus work Cillian has completed, didn’t think the homework was too much and well set out so (if like Cillian) you wanted to plan when you did the work each week he could and manage his own time. Pass or fail I think he has developed a lot faster in areas than he would have done just in school lessons.Really appreciate all the support yourself, Craig and Sarah have given us.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2022)
I think that the intense week of tutoring really helped.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2018)
I’m delighted to say that Connie passed her 11+ with a score of 167. Thank you very much for your contribution to that. We opted for your week long holiday course to kick start the ‘back to work’ moment. The structure and games that made up the classes plus completing the week with a mock were a great start to that process, just the right tone and content. In addition she chose to come to your one off Saturday class just before the exam on the Thursday and this too helped her with techniques for managing exam stress. Many thanks again and all the best for 2016.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2015)
Just a quick note to tell you that Polly passed with a score of 139. Please thank Sarah and I appreciate all you did for Polly, especially moving the lessons around for her activity schedule and my work hours! We are delighted. I hope you have a good result throughout your classes.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2016)
I am pleased to report that Freddie passed, albeit by the skin of his teeth, with a score of 122! Please pass on my thanks to Anne for all her hard work with Freddie last year.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2017)
Edward attended one of your week long summer courses in Beaconsfield. I thought that you would be interested to know that he passed with a score of 142. Phew! Thank you so much for your help with his preparation, and for sending him a good luck card in the post.
Year 6 parent, Bledlow (2019)
Connie enjoyed the summer school course. She was very happy to come in every day and seemed relaxed whilst also enjoying the work. Please pass on our thanks to the teacher for her work with Connie and her cheerful kindness throughout. It was very much appreciated.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2015)
Thanks for the hard work with her this year and Laila is looking forward to getting back into it in September :-)
Year 4 parent, Beaconsfield (2017)
She passed the 11+ exam with a score of 138. She’s really looking forward to joining her sister at Beaconsfield High School next year.Our thanks to you and her tutors for helping her achieve this.
Year 6 parent, Beaconsfield (2019)
Ben attended the summer school last week with Anne in Beaconsfield and found it very helpful. We received his test results today and are pleased that he has made good progress.
Year 5 parent, Chalfont St Peter (2017)
She passed! She scored a 127 and was very happy (and proud) for her results. Thank you for all of your help in preparing!
Year 6 parent, Beaconsfield (2020)
Just a quick note to let you know that Chloe did really well in her 11+, and passed well with a score of 130. Everyone here is very pleased, and great to see that your predictive scores throughout her courses (where she was always above the suggested pass mark) rang true in the test. Many thanks for all your help over the last couple of years, we’ll have our son coming to you I expect in a few years (currently Yr2).
Year 6 parent, Beaconsfield (2021)
He did very well passed both Bucks and Berks. Thanks.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2017)
Dear Marie,I just wanted to say that she passed the 11+ and we are all very happy.
Thank you very much for the courses. They are so helpful.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2022)
Just wanted to let you know that Oli passed and he is very pleased with the result. Thanks for all your help and support.
Year 6 parent, Beaconsfield (2020)
This is a special thank you for all your efforts with them. They both passed their 11 plus with super scores! 143 and 150 respectively.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2016)
I really appreciate getting data like this – it’s extremely useful and good to see that he is tracking well so far. He is actually really enjoying the lessons, more than I thought he would so the teacher is clearly doing a great job. The homework regime is also proving really helpful in terms of structuring the time I spend with him and understanding more directly where his strengths and weaknesses are.
Year 4 parent, Beaconsfield (2017)
The tuition really helped our son to develop the skills and knowledge required for the 11plus. The weekly sessions kept him focused and interested for the whole of year 5.
Year 6 parent, Beaconsfield (2020)
Thank you to you and to Anne for everything this year; whatever the outcome will be we're proud of our boy for applying himself and are grateful for Anne's patience and hard work with the group. It has been good training for future tests.
Year 6 parent, Beaconsfield (2019)
He passed with flying colours. We were very pleased with his results as was he.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2016)
Edward attended your 11 plus course (Bucks GL) in Beaconsfield over the Easter Holidays and found it very informative and fun! I would like to book him on another course during the summer holidays.
Year 5 parent, Chinnor (2019)
Thank you, Polly really enjoyed the lesson today.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2015)
I would like to let you know that for Christian out of all his academic activities, tuition is his favourite!
Year 4 parent, Beaconsfield (2017)
I’m pleased to say she passed! She got a score of 129. I feel this accurately reflects the type of results she was getting in her mock exams. She had worked so hard over the summer and was over the moon with the result. She said straight away that it was worth all of the effort! Thank you and your team and I look forward to being back with my other daughter, next September.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2022)
She has enjoyed the summer course and thank you for the reading list you sent to us before. This was so helpful in providing great reading material for her to digest.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2021)
I just wanted to let you know that our son passed the 11+, and would like to ask you to pass our gratitude to Sarah (the teacher in Beaconsfield on Saturdays). We think that she was a wonderful teacher to him!
Year 6 parent, Beaconsfield (2019)
He has had a fabulous year 4 and we would like to thank you and Anne for all the hard work and effort. He is already looking forward to Year 5 lessons. Hope you all have a lovely summer break!
Year 4 parent, Beaconsfield (2019)
Dear Marie, I am just wanting to email to say thank you to both you and Sinead for the support you gave to my daughter Elsa during her 4 afternoon sessions with Sinead during the October half term at Beaconsfield. Elsa has said she found the sessions really helpful to pull together her learning from the familiarisation work she had done at home previously. Elsa has also said she really enjoyed the sessions, which is so key to learning! Elsa comfortably passed her 11+ test, and is rightly proud of herself. Thank you again, and all the best for a great 2021!
Year 6 parent, Wendover (2020)
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)
Thanks very much for this last year. Your classes are very organised as always and she comes home happy despite the hard work. Your hard work is much appreciated.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2019)
Thanks a lot for your support. Eva enjoyed the lessons!
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2018)
She passed with a score of 136 so a good result!
Year 6 parent, Beaconsfield (2019)
Harvey enjoyed the first lesson – very impressed and looking forward to tomorrow’s lesson.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2016)
Thank you very much for her mock exam results. The results were encouraging and she enjoyed the 11 plus summer course with Sarah last week.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2018)
She passed which she was very happy about, as were we! Many thanks to you and to Sarah for all the tutoring.
Year 6 parent, Beaconsfield (2021)
Hi Marie, Oliver has “qualified for a Buckinghamshire grammar school”! We are very happy indeed. Please convey our thanks to Anne. His score was 130.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2016)
Like many parents we are also anxious but we just wanted to say thank you for all your reminders and keeping the classes open until the actual test itself!
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2020)
Mia is really enjoying the course this week. She was actually keen to join you next week too.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (Summer 2016)
We are delighted that he passed the 11+ so he is looking forward to joining his big brother at RGS next year assuming the school place allocation goes as expected! Thanks for your help and please pass our thanks onto Sinead too.
Year 6 parent, Beaconsfield (2019)
I am very pleased to write that my daughter, who attended your Easter and Summer revision courses, was successful in her Bucks 11+ exam.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2018)
Dear Marie,He has passed the 11 plus and we are delighted and thankful to you all for your continuous support, both my children have been successful with the tuition plans.He enjoyed Sarah’s lesson on Monday and found her always approachable and helpful!
Please do let her know as she will be keen to know the outcome!
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2022)
Please pass on a huge thank you to Sarah H. Our son passed comfortably. We've had a very positive experience with MR Tuition (our older son was tutored by Anne a few years ago with a remarkably similar result). Thank you to you and Craig as well for keeping it all so smooth. Best wishes for the future.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2022)
We are happy to say that Finley passed (quite comfortably). Finley did say that he thinks it would have been a different experience going into the test without all the preparation through tuition.
Year 6 parent, Beaconsfield (2019)
I wanted to just let you know that Jake really enjoyed his first session last week and seems motivated to complete the homework.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2015)
Hi Marie – she Passed! Thanks for the support for the last year and a half – really paid off.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2018)
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)
First of all I wanted to say a massive thank you for all your hard work especially during the COVID period to keep the tuition going for Sophie. She has made tremendous progress this year.We would love to keep in touch as her brother is only two years away from Year 4 and we certainly are convinced it has been game changing for Sophie this year.
Year 4 parent, Beaconsfield (2020)
I am delighted with Daniel’s results and I know that he will be too! So that you know, when we had Daniel’s end of term parents evening and last Progress Test reports from school, we were told that Daniel had made ‘much higher than expected progress’ in Maths and English since last taking the tests in 2016. I do credit Daniel for this of course, but I also want to say that I firmly believe that your tuition has also helped him to achieve these levels. Please pass on my thanks to his tutor, and let’s hope that he keeps up the good work.
Year 4 parent, Beaconsfield (2017)
I’d like to update you that Devkrish was successfully offered a place at the Royal Grammar School (first choice). He did attend a couple of your summer courses and mock exams which he found very useful. He enjoyed the sessions organised for the mock exams. Devkrish looks forward to excel in an academic environment. Thanks a lot.
Year 6 parent, Beaconsfield (2018)
He passed the exam, (and not a bad effort!) and will be allocated a space at grammar school which we are delighted about. Thank you and your team for your support during the 11+.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2016)
I think he has taken really well to the sessions and I look forward to him continuing with them to give him the support he needs to achieve his full potential. I am delighted with Daniel’s progress.
Year 4 parent, Beaconsfield (2016)
Thanks very much Marie for your excellent management of the situation this last term. Chloe’s school haven’t been great regarding home learning, and having her tuition work to continue with has provided much needed structure in her efforts to continue learning. While we’re very keen to get Chloe back into the classroom lessons, the zoom calls have been a well run and efficient substitute while this was impossible.
Year 4 parent, Beaconsfield (2020)
Devkrish has enjoyed and found it beneficial attending your courses at Beaconsfield. He looks forward to attending one more summer holiday week course at Beaconsfield and the refresher lesson to follow also at Beaconsfield.
Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield (2017)
Kaiya enjoyed her lesson and is looking forward to going again on Wednesday, which is good.
Year 4 parent, Beaconsfield (2016)
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Get exam ready with Marie Redmond Tuition® GL Assessment-style Buckinghamshire 11 Plus Mock Exams. Students who sat our Buckinghamshire mock exams in 2023 said they were very similar to the actual test, which made them feel prepared and confident when sitting the 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.