11 Plus Exams Bucks

Administration

The examination is administered by Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC).

11 Plus Exam Dates for September 2009 Entry

Buckinghamshire County Council has advised that the two verbal reasoning examinations this year will be held on the 2^nd and 8^th October 2008. Results will be issued on 21^st November 2008. These results will indicate your child's standardised score out of a possible 141, and the pass mark is usually 121.

The Buckinghamshire Multiple Choice Verbal Reasoning Tests

Since Buckinghamshire does not set Mathematics, Non-Verbal Reasoning and English exams like many other LEAs and selective schools do, their Verbal Reasoning papers differs from those set by other local education authorities and NFER practice papers available in the shops. The tests contain more question types (almost a third more) and have been specially written for Buckinghamshire County Council.

The verbal reasoning questions test intelligence, speed and accuracy through a series of questions based on vocabulary, sequences, patterns and mental mathematics. There are two, 50 minute 80 question multiple choice papers which typically ask the candidate to elect one answer from five options but they have sometimes sought two answers from five or six. The answer sheet is self-explanatory (supplied with familiarisation pack) and requires the child to mark a horizontal pencil line, a bit like an A4 page version of the National Lottery slips. The answer sheets will be marked electronically.

Many parents buy the NFER Nelson 11 plus verbal reasoning, multiple choice papers, although these contain 6 less question types, they are recommended to ensure practice in the same format as the real tests. Papers that contain the correct types of questions include The Bright Sparks series by Susan Daughtrey (not books 1-7), IPS and AFN. In addition, The Tutors verbal reasoning practice papers (3 sets of 4 tests, available from this website).

Applying from within Buckinghamshire

Primary schools administer familiarisation sessions on either side of the summer holiday, followed by three practice tests which are taken late September, very early October, to ensure all children are familiar with the examination formats. Parents who do not want their children to sit the examinations need to write to the headmaster; otherwise every child is automatically entered.

Applying from outside Buckinghamshire

Upon application for Bucks Grammar Schools to the BCC parents are sent a familiarisation pack from the LEA which includes a booklet containing 5 familiarisation sessions covering the exact types of questions, together with three multiple choice practice papers with answer sheets. This pack is identical to the one used in Buckinghamshire schools. The examination can be administered by any primary or preparatory school with the agreement of Buckinghamshire County Council — NOTE: the examination dates can vary for children outside the Buckinghamshire area.

NFER Standardisation

The answer sheets are marked electronically to produce the raw scores (e.g. 70 out of 80). The raw scores then undergo standardisation in order to produce a standardised score. In a nutshell standardised score is a figure that takes into account the age of the child at the time of taking the examination. For instance with almost 70% of verbal reasoning papers based on vocabulary it is clear that a child that is say 11 at the time the examination would be expected to have an advantage over a child that is 10 years old at the time of taking the examination, hence there is an adjustment process. This advantaged child’s score is scaled down whilst the disadvantaged child’s score is scaled up. The standardised score is expressed as a number out of 141.

Only the higher of the two scores from the two examination papers is used to obtain the final result, the lower score being totally disregarded.

Results day

Results will be issued on 21^st November 2008, typically just over a third of the 11 plus candidates are successful in the examinations. If your child is unsuccessful, there is a selection appeals process. You should contact your headmaster immediately.

National Allocation Day

Initial Offers for Grammar School and Upper school Places will be issued on 2^nd March 2009. There is a transfer appeals process, should your child not receive the school of your choice, however, you can only appeal for a grammar school, at this stage, if your child was successful in the 11 plus or at a selection appeal.

Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools

Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools include:

Further information

Whilst we take great care to ensure that the above general information is a true reflection of the current regime for 11 plus exams in Bucks we would strongly recommend that you contact:

The Schools Admission Department
Buckinghamshire County Council
County Hall
Walton Street
Aylesbury
HP20 1UA

Telephone: 01296 395000 (Minicom Users: 01296 383111)

Alternatively check Guidance on Admission to Schools In Buckinghamshire for the very latest information; here there are a series of highly informative links and downloads that will answer the majority of your questions provided by Buckinghamshire County Council.