Guide to grammar schools and the Secondary Transfer Test

The result of the testing process decides which type of school will best meet your child's needs. This could be an upper/all-ability school or a grammar school.

A letter will be sent home advising you how to access your child's results.

Results will be sent by email.

On 13 October you will receive your child's Test results.

You will receive your child's Secondary Transfer Test Score (STTS). It will also tell you what your child scored in the verbal, mathematical and non-verbal sections of the test. It will say whether the STTS qualifies your child for grammar school admission.

If your child's STTS is 121 or more, they have qualified for grammar school. This means that we will do our best to offer your child a place at one of your preferred grammar schools on 1 March.

If your child's STTS is less than 121, they have not qualified for grammar school.

You need to make sure you apply for your child's secondary school place by the national deadline of 31 October.

You only need to do something if your child did not qualify and you feel strongly that they would be suitable for a grammar school. If this is the case, you have two options:

Either:

You can ask for a Selection Review. Reviews will take place in December and January. If your review is successful, your child will qualify for all Buckinghamshire grammar schools. We will be able to consider all your grammar school preferences for the allocation of school places on 1 March.

If your child does not qualify at review, you can ask for an Independent Admission Appeal for a place at a particular grammar school.

You cannot do this until after the allocation of school places in March. Appeals will take place from May 2024.

If you decide to appeal and your child's case went to Selection Review, the Independent Appeal Panel (IAP) will first need to decide if the Selection Review Process was 'fair, consistent and objective'.

It is only if the IAP agrees that it was not, that they will then be able to consider the rest of the case you make for admission to the particular grammar school.

Or

You may decide to wait. You can then ask for an Independent Admission Appeal for a place at a particular grammar school once we tell you the outcome of your application on 1 March. We will refuse your grammar school preferences as your child did not score 121 or above in the Secondary Transfer Test. Admissions appeals take place from May 2024.

You may wish to talk to your child's primary school headteacher before you ask for a review (or appeal). You can discuss if your child’s STTS was as expected and whether a grammar school would be best for your child.