Buckinghamshire 11 Plus

Buckinghamshire School Allocation Profiles Page 2

Buckinghamshire 12+ and 13+ Tests Page 3

Bucks 11 Plus

Buckinghamshire (Bucks) is one of the last remaining Counties where education is fully selective. There are 13 grammar schools and 21 Upper Schools in the County. Admission into Year 7 at all schools is managed centrally by Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC).

Buckinghamshire operates an “opt out” system for the 11+, whereby children at Bucks state junior (primary) schools are automatically entered for the test unless their parents actively withdraw them from taking it. Children at private schools and at schools outside Buckinghamshire must actively apply to take the test. Application forms for entry to the tests are available from July each year and have to be submitted at the start of September each year (see table below for the current year’s dates).

Many private schools in the county and large schools outside the county, but close to the border, administer the Bucks 11 plus on behalf of the Buckinghamshire County Council. These are known as “Partner Schools”. The children will receive the application form for the test and the CAF via their school, the children are tested in school and the results are provided via the school in exactly the same way as for state school children in Bucks.

Children attending schools outside Buckinghamshire which do not have a Partner School arrangement with Bucks County Council take the test at central venues around the county on two separate days during the autumn half term.

Approximately 30 percent of children qualify for a grammar school place each year, and a further 5% are deemed qualified after a successful appeal against non-qualification. School places are allocated by distance from school gates with defined catchment areas that receive priority.

The Buckinghamshire 11+ tests comprises two multiple-choice verbal reasoning tests. A child’s higher score in these two tests will be their Verbal Reasoning Test Score (VRTS). The VRTS score is used to decide if a child has reached the standard necessary for a Buckinghamshire grammar school. Both verbal reasoning tests must be taken for a VRTS to be recorded. A child’s 11+ score ceased to be a deciding factor several years ago and all children scoring 121 or higher, or whose case is successful at an appeal, are considered equally qualified. Every child living in Bucks who scores 121 or higher will be offered a grammar school place, although this may not be for the school of first choice.

To assess your chances of gaining a place at your preferred school you can view our summary of past Allocation Profiles (Distances).

Buckinghamshire is also unusual, in that it has retained the 12+ and 13+ tests for grammar school entry. There is no guarantee that a successful candidate in these tests will be allocated a school place, but for some children it offers a second bite of the cherry if they have been unsuccessful in the 11+.

Bucks 11 Plus Admissions Information for September 2013 entry

Bucks 11 Plus Appropriate Practice Materials

Verbal Reasoning materials (multiple choice format) published by IPS, The Tutors, and Susan Daughtrey Bright Sparks only (Papers 1 – 8 in two packs), not her other books. They do not cover all the 21 types, and have additional question types in them that do not feature in the Bucks tests. Also GL Assessment 11 plus Verbal Reasoning – Pack 1 contains 15 of the 21 types and 85 questions; Pack 2 contains all 21 types and 80 questions on each paper. Walsh books provide more challenging material for use towards the end of tutoring.

All of these materials are listed in the Buckinghamshire part of the 11+ Regions section of the online shop where you can purchase these in a convenient place.

More information and advice can also be found in the Buckinghamshire section of the 11+ Forum

Bucks 11 Plus School Information

Open evening information for all Bucks schools, including grammar schools, is published on the Buckinghamshire County Council website in July each year. Open evenings take place in the last two weeks of September.

N.B. Chesham Grammar School was known as Chesham High School until September 2010.

Upper Schools in Buckinghamshire

All Buckinghamshire Upper Schools are co-educational.

• The Amersham School, Amersham
• The Aylesbury Vale Academy, Aylesbury, (formerly Quarrendon Upper School)
• The Beaconsfield School, Beaconsfield
• Buckingham School, Buckingham
• Burnham Upper School, Burnham
• The Chalfonts Community College, Chalfont St. Peter
• Chiltern Hills Academy, Chesham
• Cottesloe School, Wing
• Cressex Community School, High Wycombe
• The Grange School, Aylesbury
• Great Marlow School, Marlow
• Highcrest Community School, High Wycombe
• Holmer Green Senior School, Holmer Green
• John Colet School, Wendover
• Mandeville Upper School, Aylesbury
• The Misbourne School, Great Missenden
• Princes Risborough School, Princes Risborough
• Sir William Ramsay School, Hazlemere
• St Bernard’s Catholic School, High Wycombe
• Waddesdon CofE School, Waddesdon
• The Wye Valley School, Bourne End

N.B. Chiltern Hills Academy was known as Chesham Park Community College until September 2011.

Buckinghamshire School Allocation Profiles Page 2

Buckinghamshire 12+ and 13+ Tests Page 3

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