11+ tutoring in Milton Keynes: what you need to know about the Buckinghamshire grammar schools

If you live in Milton Keynes and you are considering grammar school for your child, Buckinghamshire is the most likely route. Schools like Aylesbury Grammar, Chesham Grammar, and Royal Latin in Buckingham are within reach for MK families and are among the most sought after state schools in the region.

Here is a practical guide to how it works and what preparation looks like.

The exam

All thirteen Buckinghamshire grammar schools use the same test, called the Secondary Transfer Test, provided by GL Assessment. Your child only needs to sit it once regardless of how many schools you apply to. The exam covers four areas across two papers: Verbal Reasoning and English in Paper 1, and Maths and Non-Verbal Reasoning including Spatial Reasoning in Paper 2. Both papers are multiple choice and each is around 45 minutes long.

The qualifying score is 121. Children who reach this score are considered suitable for grammar school. Places are then allocated based on distance, so living in Milton Keynes rather than within the county is worth factoring into your planning.

When to register and sit

Registration typically opens in May of Year 5 and closes in June. The exam itself is in September of Year 5, with results in October. This means preparation needs to be well underway by the summer term at the latest.

What preparation looks like

Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning are not taught in primary school, so most children need to learn the question formats from scratch. This is not about intelligence, it is about familiarity. Children who have seen the question types before and practised working under timed conditions perform significantly better than those who have not.

I have been preparing Milton Keynes children for the Buckinghamshire 11+ since 2020 and every child I have worked with has passed. If you would like to talk through whether grammar school is the right path for your child and what preparation would look like, I am happy to have that conversation for free.

📞 07523 434161 tom@tomsandersontutoring.com