The Bucks Grammar Schools partnership runs a single Transfer Test that applies to all 13 grammar schools in the county.
Buckinghamshire is one of the largest fully-selective counties in England — 13 grammar schools, all admitting via the same Transfer Test administered by The Bucks Grammar Schools partnership. A single sitting and a single standardised score open doors to every grammar school in the county.
Because it's a partnership-wide test, parents in Bucks don't have to choose between schools at the registration stage. Children sit one test in early September of Year 6, and the standardised score is used by every school's admissions process.
The The Bucks Grammar Schools (TBGS) partnership — All 13 Buckinghamshire grammar schools work together via TBGS, so a single test result applies across the partnership.
The Bucks Transfer Test uses GL Assessment papers. Children sit two papers, each combining Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, and Maths in mixed sections. Each paper is around 45 minutes.
The test is timed and multiple-choice. The standardised score is age-weighted so children born later in the academic year aren't penalised for being slightly younger when they sit the test.
Cover the three subjects evenly. The GL format rewards speed plus accuracy, so getting comfortable with the question types — and practising under time pressure — matters more than mastering exotic content.
TBGS publishes familiarisation materials on its website each summer. Use those alongside broader GL Assessment-style practice papers; the question types are consistent year-to-year.
Yes — the Transfer Test result is shared across all schools in the TBGS partnership. You don't need to sit different tests for different Bucks grammar schools.
Registration typically opens in May or June of Year 5 and closes in the early summer. Exact dates are published on the TBGS site each year.
The qualifying score is 121, but this is the minimum — individual schools then offer places based on rank order plus their oversubscription criteria (catchment, sibling links, etc.).
No — the Buckinghamshire Transfer Test covers Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, and Maths only. English skills are still important for reading comprehension and vocabulary within VR questions.
Free taster papers in Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Maths. Worked answers on every question. No payment needed to start.