Buckinghamshire · 13 grammar schools

Buckinghamshire grammar schools & catchment areas, in plain English.

Q: What is the Buckinghamshire 11+?

The Secondary Transfer Test (STT), run by The Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools consortium. Children sit it in September of Year 6; the qualifying standardised score is 121.

Q: What score do you need to pass the Bucks 11+?

A standardised score of 121 or above counts as qualifying. Above that, places are decided by each school’s catchment area and distance — not by rank.

Q: How do Buckinghamshire catchment areas work?

Every Bucks grammar has its own catchment area; living inside it gives priority, and straight-line distance breaks ties. Check your postcode to see which schools’ areas you fall in.

Q: Do I have to live in Buckinghamshire to apply?

No — any child can sit the test and apply. But all the schools prioritise their catchment areas, so living outside the county usually means lower priority.

Q: When is the deadline?

31 October for the main secondary application. Register for the Secondary Transfer Test over the summer before Year 6.

Buckinghamshire is wholly selective in towns like Aylesbury, High Wycombe, Amersham and Beaconsfield — 13 grammar schools, all entered through one shared test, the Secondary Transfer Test run by The Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools. This page explains how qualifying and catchment work, and lets you check your postcode against all 13.

13 grammar schools Selection: the Secondary Transfer Test Data verified June 2026

13 schools

Across Buckinghamshire

121 qualifying score

Secondary Transfer Test

13 catchment-based

Area, then distance

31 Oct deadline

Apply via your council

Check your postcode against every Buckinghamshire grammar

See which catchment areas you fall inside, your distance to each school and your eligibility — free, no account needed.

Real, published boundaries and the latest distance cut-offs — not straight-line estimates.

01 · How it works

How Buckinghamshire grammar admissions work.

Buckinghamshire’s grammars share a single entry test — the Secondary Transfer Test (STT), set for The Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools (TBGS) consortium. Children sit it in mid-September of Year 6; you register over the summer beforehand. The qualifying standard is a standardised score of 121.

You then list your preferred grammars on your home council’s application form by 31 October. Offers go out on 1 March.

Qualifying makes a child eligible across the county — but each school then applies its own catchment area and distance rules to decide who actually gets a place.

02 · Catchments

How Buckinghamshire catchment areas work.

Every Buckinghamshire grammar uses a catchment area: a school-specific zone in which living gives you priority, with straight-line distance breaking ties inside it. None are purely super-selective on score.

Because the county is wholly selective, the practical question is less “will my child qualify” and more “which school’s catchment am I in” — the areas overlap and leave gaps that aren’t obvious from a glance at a map.

GrammarBound maps each school’s published priority area and distance tie-break — open the map or check your postcode above.

03 · The schools