Stay ahead with exclusive tips on the Buckinghamshire 11+ exam for Dr Challoner’s 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 Dr Challoner’s 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 2014 and 31st August 2015 will take the exam in September 2025 to secure a place at a Buckinghamshire grammar school for September 2026. While the exact date for the September 2025 exam has not yet been announced, it is anticipated to be on Thursday 11th September 2025, based on previous years. We will update this information as soon as the official date is available.
Lucy did really well and scored 132 and hopefully will be going to Dr Challoner’s. We feel that the tuition really helped Lucy progress and gain in confidence. We will certainly be recommending your courses to friends. Please pass on our thanks to the Saturday tutor that Lucy had as she was brilliant.
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 2025 exam, for children attending partner and out-of-county schools, is expected to open in early May 2025 and close in mid-June 2025. We will update the exact dates here as soon as they are available.
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 (Dr Challoner’s 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.
The results for the 2024 Buckinghamshire 11 Plus Transfer Test (2025 entry) were shared on Friday 11th October 2024. The results date for the 2025 Buckinghamshire 11 Plus Transfer Test (2026 entry) will be announced in due course.
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 Dr Challoner’s 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
We are very proud, she got 132. :-) Hoping she is off to Dr Challoner’s High School next year. Thanks for your help (and your team).
Year 5 parent, Gerrards Cross (2018)
Hi Marie,
She did v well. She scored 151 and she is over the moon. She hope's to get a place at Challoners. Thank you for all of your input. She said she felt the tutoring prepared her really well for the exam. Expect my youngest child in 2 years!
Thank you again
Year 5 parent, Chesham (2022)
She passed the 11+ and is hoping to go to Dr Challoner’s High School.
Year 6 parent, Seer Green (2019)
She qualified convincingly despite the mess she felt she made of the maths paper. She scored 144 weighted standardised scores as follows: VR 77, Math 32 and NVR 35.25. We are very pleased that she qualified. We will be applying to both Dr Challoner's High and Chesham Grammar. No doubt your tuition centre was invaluable to her 11+ success and I will provide feedback in due course.
Year 5 parent, St Albans (2022)
Ava passed! She did so well, 131, and she is absolutely thrilled. There’s no question that the classes made a huge difference, and thank you too for your helpful advice whilst we were waiting for the score. Thank you again, and we will see you in a year or two with our son Johnny! I will be sure to recommend you to Johnny’s classmates when the time comes. Ava is hoping to go to Dr Challoners and so excited about it!
Year 5 parent, Amersham (2017)
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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.