Free 11+ guide
Buckinghamshire 11+ test format
Buckinghamshire's Secondary Transfer Test has two multiple-choice papers: verbal skills, then maths and non-verbal skills including spatial reasoning. Each has about 45 minutes of assessed work, or 60 minutes including introductions and examples.
Source: Buckinghamshire Council: testing process (accessed 2026-09-23)
Know which instructions you are rehearsing
Source: Buckinghamshire Council: testing process (accessed 2026-09-23)
Verbal skills include comprehension, technical English and verbal reasoning. Audio instructions guide the test. The separate practice test uses shorter papers of about 40 minutes each and is not marked or sent home.
Suggested preparation: ask your child to explain each instruction before beginning a new type of question. When practising with audio instructions, leave the recording in charge of the start and stop points.
Keep subject weights separate from raw marks
Source: Buckinghamshire Council: marking the test (accessed 2026-09-23)
GL Assessment marks the papers. The standardised score weights verbal skills at 50%, maths at 25% and non-verbal skills at 25%. Qualification is at 121. A higher score does not itself give greater admissions priority under the council's guidance.
These weights are not a recipe for converting practice percentages. Check the target school's admissions policy as well as the test guidance.
Check a relationship, not just a topic
Worked example Part and whole
Original teaching example. Petal is to flower as page is to: A ink, B library, C book, D reader, E pencil.
- State the relationship: a petal is a part of a flower.
- A page is a part of a book.
Why this works: C. The relationship runs from part to whole in both pairs.
Why the tempting route fails: B is related to books but is not the whole of which a page is directly a part. Related words alone do not complete the analogy.
Use the right local familiarisation
Start with the council's Bucks familiarisation link in the sources. Our free Bucks sets are original practice in the Secondary Transfer Test style. A raw mark on them is not a standardised score and should not be read as a target or a prediction.
- Suggested check: note the entry year on your chosen school policy.
- Keep registration and school application tasks separate in your notes.
- Use fresh practice to discuss a method, not to estimate a qualifying score.
Sources and scope
Sources
Buckinghamshire Council: testing process. Paper format and the separate practice test. Accessed 2026-09-23. Read the official sourcehttps://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/schools-libraries-and-parks/school-admissions-and-appeals/guides-and-policies/guide-to-grammar-schools-and-the-secondary-school-transfer-test-11-plus/secondary-transfer-testing-process/
Buckinghamshire Council: marking the test. GL Assessment, subject weights and qualification. Accessed 2026-09-23. Read the official sourcehttps://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/schools-libraries-and-parks/school-admissions-and-appeals/guides-and-policies/guide-to-grammar-schools-and-the-secondary-school-transfer-test-11-plus/marking-the-secondary-transfer-test/
Source access date: 2026-09-23; live pages rechecked 2026-09-24. Official pages can change. Our teaching examples and suggested routines are independently written, not official test items or predictions of admission.