Stay ahead with exclusive tips on the Buckinghamshire 11+ exam for The Royal Grammar School
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Introduction to the Buckinghamshire Transfer Test (Bucks 11 Plus)
To apply for a place at a Buckinghamshire grammar school (including The Royal 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 2015 and 31st August 2016 will take the exam in September 2026 to secure a place at a Buckinghamshire grammar school for September 2027. The exact date has not yet been confirmed; the most recent exam took place on Thursday 11th 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.
You do not need to register your child if they attend a Buckinghamshire Local Authority primary school.
If your child goes to a Partner School (or an independent school in Buckinghamshire that is not classed as a ‘Partner School), or a school in another Local Authority area (such as Milton Keynes City Council), you will need to register on the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Testing Registration Form.
Registration for the 2026 exam, for children attending partner and out-of-county schools, will open at 10 am on Friday 1st May 2026 and close at 3 pm on Tuesday 2nd June 2026.
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 The Royal 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.
If you want your child to be considered for entry to a Buckinghamshire grammar school in September 2027, you will be required to name the relevant school or schools on the Common Application Form (CAF).
Common Application Forms will open at the beginning of September 2026 and you will have until the end of31st October 2026 to submit it to your Local Authority.
School places for September 2027 will be confirmed on Monday 1st March 2027.
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 2027 entry, the waiting lists will remain in place until 31st December 2027 (the end of your child’s first term in Year 7). Once school places are confirmed (which for 2027 entry will be on Monday 1st March 2027), 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 The Royal Grammar 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
Why parents choose our 11 Plus Courses
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 2025 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
Students attending our Year 5 11+ Easter and 11+ summer holiday courses receive a Superbrain® English and verbal reasoning holiday course book for each week they attend, further reinforcing their skills. Plus, all term-time students receive Marie Redmond's Superbrain® 11 Plus Flash Cards upon joining—an interactive resource designed to supercharge their vocabulary and accelerate exam preparation.
Explore our full Superbrain® collection and discover how these exclusive resources support students on their journey to 11+ success.
Data-Led Approach With SuccessTrack® by Marie Redmond
In addition to weekly spelling tests, our term-time students undergo formal assessments twice per term—at half-term and at the end of the term—covering all topic areas. These assessments provide a valuable measure of progress over time, ensuring that we can track genuine improvements in attainment without being overly influenced by short-term fluctuations. Testing more frequently risks skewing results due to the occasional ‘off week,’ whereas our structured approach strikes the perfect balance between regular monitoring and meaningful insight.
Based on the initial assessment and your child's specific answers, we create a personalised tuition plan that sets individual targets for each subject area that is relevant to them, such as English, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning. Every lesson is designed to develop these areas. We continuously monitor progress, allowing us to refine tuition plans to ensure they suit your child's needs and challenges.
Parents are always welcome to contact us at any stage during their child's 11+ course for feedback on their development. They can speak with their child's teacher after lessons or contact Marie directly by phone or email for further insight. As a smaller provider, we take pride in our ability to offer tailored guidance and maintain a close, supportive relationship with families.
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 Thinking Course
The virtual Creative Thinking Course is particularly useful for boys preparing for the latest format of the Reading School 11+ exam but is open to all our term-time students.
Students attend one creative thinking lesson per week on Zoom, which lasts for 45 minutes. Students are taught to use innovation and problem solving. They will become adept at approaching situations in different ways, using diverse strategies. Every lesson includes a fun thinking skills warm-up activity followed by the main focus of the lesson. Strategies like group discussions, questioning, mind mapping, and thinking 'outside the box' are employed to encourage creative learning approaches. Students learn various writing techniques and how to draft, review, and edit their work.
For further information, including fees, term dates and FAQ's, please visit our Creative Thinking Course page.
Our courses are led by qualified primary teachers and prepare pupils for all aspects of the Buckinghamshire 11 Plus
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)
We have some very good news to pass on to you! We are delighted to tell you that he scored 131 in his test, enabling him to apply for a place at RGS in High Wycombe, as he had hoped for. It is lovely that he will be able to attend the same school as his older brother, who will be in year 10 when he joins. A great result for all of the family! I would like to pass on my thanks to Sarah again, for all of the help and guidance she gave us on the course. I would strongly recommend the course he did if anyone asks me for advice in the future.
Year 5 parent, Amersham (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 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)
He passed his 11 plus 🙂 Just wanted to say big thank you to you and all your team, especially to Sinead. He loved her classes. Thank you so much for all your support, everything was just perfect. We are going to apply to Royal Grammar school as he loved it when we visited it.. So fingers crossed. Again - big big thank you.
Year 5 parent, High Wycombe (2024)
I wanted to let you know that Rufus passed his 11+ with a score of 133. We are all delighted, none more so than Roo. Thank you and his tutors for providing such great guidance and support. He will be applying to RGS. Fingers crossed he gets the place he wants.
Year 5 parent, Holmer Green (2018)
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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 2025 said they were very similar to the actual test, which made them feel prepared and confident when sitting the exam.
Students attending our Year 5 11+ Easter and 11+ summer holiday courses receive a Superbrain® English and verbal reasoning holiday course book for each week they attend, further reinforcing their skills. Plus, all term-time students receive Marie Redmond's Superbrain® 11 Plus Flash Cards upon joining—an interactive resource designed to supercharge their vocabulary and accelerate exam preparation.
In addition to weekly spelling tests, our term-time students undergo formal assessments twice per term—at half-term and at the end of the term—covering all topic areas. These assessments provide a valuable measure of progress over time, ensuring that we can track genuine improvements in attainment without being overly influenced by short-term fluctuations. Testing more frequently risks skewing results due to the occasional ‘off week,’ whereas our structured approach strikes the perfect balance between regular monitoring and meaningful insight.
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.