Guide to grammar schools and the Secondary Transfer Test

Sometimes we agree that a child can take the Secondary Transfer Test before the school year in which they are 11. This only happens if your child is of outstanding academic ability.

Your child will also need to:

• be very mature
• have been working well with other pupils in the year group above them for several years

We will not agree to test an under-age child if they have only been in some classes with older children.

We will also not test a child if they have only been working in a mixed year group class.

contact school admissions if your under-age child meets the description above, and you would like them to sit the Secondary Transfer Test.

If your child’s education was delayed (for example if they started school a year late because they were summer-born, or if you lived abroad), normally they will sit the test at the same time as their classmates, and they will progress to secondary school with the same cohort. Please refer to the admissions policy for your preferred school(s) for further information.

If your over-age child attends a Buckinghamshire LA Primary School, you do not need to contact us to ask if they can sit the test: they will be entered for the test automatically and will sit the test in school.

If your over-age child attends any other school (including Partner Schools and schools outside Buckinghamshire), get in contact with us before 13 June if you would like them to sit the Secondary Transfer Test.

If you live outside Buckinghamshire, you should also contact your home Local Authority’s Admissions Team to find out how your child’s secondary school application will be processed, and whether they have additional requirements for you.

If you and your child are Buckinghamshire residents, and we agree that your child can sit the Secondary Transfer Test as an under-age or over-age candidate, you will be able to submit a secondary school application through Buckinghamshire Council - contact us in September and we will send you a link to the correct application form.

If you and your child live outside Buckinghamshire, even if we agree your child can sit the Secondary Transfer Test as an under-age or over-age candidate, you must also contact your home Local Authority to check that they will accept a secondary school application for your child. Other Local Authorities may require additional evidence or information before they will agree to accept an application.

View more information about children being educated outside their normal year group.