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The Buckinghamshire 11+ Exam Papers, Questions & Complete Guide

11+ Buckinghamshire Papers with Detailed Answers

The Buckinghamshire 11+ (11 plus) Exam

All year 6 students in Buckinghamshire take a test for year 7 entry in certain schools of Buckinghamshire. What is the Buckinghamshire 11+ exam or the Secondary Transfer Test is the test taken by year 6 students who wish to study year 7 in grammar schools in Buckinghamshire?

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Types of 11+ schools in Buckinghamshire Region:

There are two different types of schools in Buckinghamshire:  Grammar Schools and Upper Schools. 

Student’s admission to Grammar schools is dependent on their performance in the secondary transfer test. Upper schools are inclusive and admit students of all abilities.

There are 13 Grammar schools in Buckinghamshire Region: 

What is 11 plus Buckinghamshire test?

There are two multiple-choice tests in the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test.

Paper 1 English Verbal skills Comprehension Verbal reasoning15 min for instructions and introduction + 45 min for test
Paper 2 Mathematics Non-verbal skills including spatial reasoning15 min for instructions and introduction + 45 min for test

The scores of the students in these tests are standardised based on the students age, to ensure fair performance of students. The students are marked based on the following pattern:

  • 50% of the standardised score for verbal skills
  • 25% of the standardised score for mathematical skills
  • 25% of the standardised score for non-verbal skills.

Each child completes two multiple-choice ability tests, of about the same level of difficulty. Both tests assess the child’s ability in:

  • Verbal reasoning: about 50 per cent of the marks, including reading comprehension, vocabulary and grammar
  • Numerical reasoning: about 30 percent of the marks, covering Key Stage 2 mental maths and multi-step problem-solving
  • Non-verbal reasoning: about 20 percent of the marks, focusing on logic, deduction and concepts like symmetry and rotation

Each test lasts 45 to 50 minutes and is divided into separately timed sections covering the three elements.

Key Statistics on Bucks Secondary Transfer Test

The scores of the secondary transfer test are standardised according to students' age so there is no unfair advantage to any student. It considers each child's age (in years and months) on the date they take the test.

The Secondary Transfer Test Score (STTS) is between 0 to 180.
The qualifying STTS for a grammar school is 121 or above. It is anticipated that 33% of the students get the qualifying STTS.

However, a score of 121 or above doesn’t mean the student has a higher priority for admission at a grammar school. The Buckinghamshire Grammar schools don't use score as an admission criteria. Each of the schools have their own admission policy, according to which students are offered admission.

The STTS is only used to screen appropriate students; having a score of 121 or above only means that the student is suitable for a grammar school.

We have compiled the average STTS from 2016 to 2020 from TBGS to show the pattern of the average STTS

Year20162017201820192020
Average STTS100100100112112

The average STTS has increased over the years from 2016 to 2020 but these averages are still below the qualifying STTS of 121. 

This implies that the 11+ Buckinghamshire Test is fiercely competitive.

11 plus Buckinghamshire Test Board

The Exam Board Buckinghamshire Test follows GL Assessment. GL Assessment is one of the leading providers of 11+ tests for admissions. 

GL Assessment 11+ tests consist of one or more of four main areas:

  • Verbal reasoning (VR) and non-verbal reasoning (NVR), which have been verified as to be the best way to conclude future academic potential.
  • Mathematics and English, which provide a good and authenticated indication of predicting their knowledge.

VR and NVR tests are a good way to assess knowledge as they do not depend on what children have already learnt. ‘This means that the test is not a disadvantage for children who have had lesser opportunities to grow with good reading skills and vocabulary.’

Some schools and regions also use English and/or maths 11+ tests. These are mainly based on curriculum covered during the early part of Year 6, and are used alongside VR and NVR tests to establish how much children have achieved in their schooling so far.

Sections covered in 11 plus Buckinghamshire Test

There are two papers in the 11+ Bucks test or the Secondary Transfer Test each of 45 minutes.

15 minutes are given in addition for reading the instructions provided in the paper.

Topics covered in each of the sections are given in the table below

EnglishComprehension, reading skills, spelling, punctuation and grammar
MathsNumerical skills, mostly all mathematical skills in Key Stage 2 curriculum
Verbal reasoningWork with letters and numbers, find relationships between letters and numbers through codes
Non-verbal reasoningWork with shapes and patterns and try to find relationships between them

Children attending Local Authority and Partner schools will be given a familiarisation booklet by their school to fill out at home to give them a chance to try out the types of question and style of test. They will also take two Preparation Tests at school. Children attending other schools will be invited to attend Preparation Tests at a central venue. The tests are not marked or sent home, but are purely to help the children prepare themselves for the tests to come.

What should you do to help your child succeed in the 11+ Buckinghamshire Test? 

The 11 plus test is designed to test a children’s overall academic potential. Dedicated tutoring and practice resources designed to help pupils master Bucks 11+ exam techniques and boost their confidence could help in significantly improving their scores in 11+ Exams.

How can Pi Academy Help? 

  1. Our experts have designed highly effective  11+ Buckinghsmshire exam practice papers to help children understand the actual exam pattern.
  2. We also provide customised online courses and bespoke tutoring to help your child succeed in their Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test.

Recommendations: Verbal Reasonings

Pi Academy has created numerous papers for Verbal Reasoning practice. These papers are segregated into 4 different topics which cover all the 21 types of questions that can appear in the verbal reasoning tests conducted by GL. Practicing these papers can help students get acquainted with the types of questions that appear in the tests. It is highly recommended that parents download these papers and give students a timed-practice to imitate the exam conditions. The answers and solutions to these practice papers are also available so you can mark your progress. Make sure to have a look at them to boost your prep for the 11+ Buckinghamshire test.

Recommendations: Non - Verbal Reasonings

We have created Non-Verbal Reasoning Packs that contain full-length practice papers and also Topic-wise practice papers. This pack includes all of the question types that could appear in 11 plus Buckinghamshire Test. Practicing these papers can help you recognise the different types of questions in Non-verbal reasoning and your strengths and weaknesses. Non-verbal reasoning is known to be a slightly more difficult section than others, so make sure you practice enough questions from our topic-wise practice papers to gain confidence. The tests are time bound and broken down into small sections. Answers and answer sheets of the same style as in the GL Assessment are included. Available for immediate download so children can start preparing right away.

Recommendations: Mathematics

We have multiple 11+ GL Mathematics packs with 4 papers each that contain multiple-choice questions similar to those found in the GL Assessment. Each pack contains properly sprinkled questions related to each topic. They come along with solutions and detailed answers. We also recommend 11+ Past papers (answers included). You can purchase, download and start using these papers today.

Click on the link below to learn more and buy:

Recommendations: English

We offer multiple English packs that each contain full-length exam papers. These papers are designed by experts to simulate the exam style questions. Not only are our papers time bound as the actual GL exam but they also have all of the question types that appear in the real exam. Answers included. Available for download immediately after purchase.

The Key benefits of our Pi Academy 11 plus Exam:

The key benefits of our 11+ resources and packs include:

  • Specifically defined and produced for the 11+ exam and exclusively available at Pi Academy.
  • All subject and topic areas are covered.
  • Imitates the actual examination experiences with timed sections designed to match the GL Assessments questions and timings.
  • Time bounded practice sections before each main test designed according to children's needs.
  • Multiple-choice sheets included so children can get used to filling in their answers quickly and accurately.
  • Fully explained answers are also included
  • Available for download and use instantly after purchase. Gain subscriptions and start your child’s preparation today!

FAQs

What Parents Are Saying?
  • Great Resources for 11+ Exams. My daughter achieved in her exams, thanks piacademy for recommending these papers.
    Viswa, 11+ Parent
    Thank you for creating these practice papers. Not found anywhere on the web. Very unique and helpful.
    Anonymous, 11+ Parent
  • The NVR arranged in topics are so useful and the explanations given in the answers are very clear to understand.
    Cherry Walker, 11+ Parent
    These papers really helped my daughter to improve her skills and gave her so much confidence for attending 11 plus, Thanks PiAcademy 😍
    Komala, 11+ Parent
  • Good practice test papers to prepare for 11+ exams.
    Narendra, 11+ Parent 
    Great Resources for 11+ Exams. My daughter achieved in her exams, thanks piacademy for recommending these papers.
    Viswa, 11+ Parent
  • Great Resources for 11+ Exams. My daughter achieved in her exams, thanks piacademy for recommending these papers.
    Viswa, 11+ Parent
  • Thank you for creating these practice papers. Not found anywhere on the web. Very unique and helpful.
    Anonymous, 11+ Parent
  • The NVR arranged in topics are so useful and the explanations given in the answers are very clear to understand.
    Cherry Walker, 11+ Parent
  • These papers really helped my daughter to improve her skills and gave her so much confidence for attending 11 plus, Thanks PiAcademy 😍
    Komala, 11+ Parent
  • Good practice test papers to prepare for 11+ exams.
    Narendra, 11+ Parent
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