Secondary Transfer

 THE 2027 SECONDARY TRANSFER ENTRY TIMELINE

When do I need to apply for my child’s secondary school place?

Make your application from September 2026. If your child lives in Buckinghamshire, submit your application to Buckinghamshire Council on the online application portal from 7 September 2026. Your application should include all your preferred schools (even if the school is not in the LA where you live).
Apply to your child’s home Local Authority (LA) by the national deadline of 31 October 2026. You will find out which secondary school your child has been offered on National Offer Day: 1 March 2027.

How do I decide which schools to apply for?

Before applying for school places, find out:
• Information about your preferred schools, and whether they will be right for your child.
• If your child needs to sit a test before applying e.g. the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test for grammar schools in Buckinghamshire, or the banding test for The Highcrest Academy (more information can be found on our Highcrest Academy Page).
• If you need to include further evidence when you apply (such as a Supplementary Information Form, additional address evidence or evidence of receipt of pupil premium).
• How your child’s application will be considered (each school’s admission rules can be found on their website within their Admissions Policy) and whether your child is likely to be offered a place. Historic allocation information can be found here: https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/allocations
Most schools host open events, so you can visit and learn about what they have to offer. Check their websites for details about open events and the school’s admission arrangements.
Bucks Council website provides a checker which enables you to work out your catchment and closest schools (measured in a straight line): https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/find-a-school-place

What do I need to know about grammar schools and the Secondary Transfer Test?
There are two types of mainstream secondary school in Buckinghamshire:
•Upper/all-ability schools, which admit children without reference to their academic ability
•Grammar schools, which admit children who score 121 or higher in the Secondary Transfer Test (11 plus)

The Secondary Transfer Test measures verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and mathematical skills. There are two papers, each about 60 minutes long, with a break between. The test takes place in school during the school day. A shorter practice test is taken two days before the test, to help children learn what to expect. The Familiarisation Booklet will be posted to your child’s home address in July.

Children who attend a Buckinghamshire state-funded primary school are automatically entered for the Secondary Transfer Test and do not need to be formally registered to sit the test. However, if you do not want your child to sit the test, you can withdraw them.
If you want your child to sit the test, then supply an email address so we can advise you directly about their results on 9 October 2026.
You will receive a letter telling you how to withdraw and/or how to tell us your email address. Please do this by 2 June 2026.
If your child has Special Educational Needs or a disability and already receives adjustments in school to help them access the curriculum and you want them to sit the test, your headteacher can apply for access arrangements to enable them to access the test.
If a child scores 121 or more in the Secondary Transfer Test, they are considered ‘qualified’ for grammar school and will be considered for places at their preferred grammar school(s) according to each grammar school’s admission rules.

How do they work out which children are offered a place at a school?

If there are more applications for a school than places available, they use a school’s admission rules to work out which children should receive an offer: the children who best fit a school’s admission rules are most likely to be offered a place.
Each school’s admission rules are different: check the admission rules for each of your preferred schools by looking in their Admissions Policy – available on each school’s website. Schools do not know where they are listed in your child’s application (i.e. whether they are your first preference, second preference, etc.), so they can’t prioritise children who listed the school as their first choice or rule out those who placed it lower down their list.
Each child is only offered one school place on National Offer Day: the order you list the schools in your child’s application tells them which school you would prefer in case more than one school is available: they always offer your child the highest preference school place possible. This is why you must list the schools in the order you really want them – i.e. your most preferred school at number 1, followed by your next best option at number 2, and so on.

What do I need to know about school transport?

Most children are not entitled to Free School Transport: make sure you consider how your child will get to school when deciding which schools to apply for. Families may be able to pay for school transport if places are available or otherwise make use of public transport.
Free School Transport may be given if your child (a) attends their nearest school and (b) the nearest school is over the statutory walking distance of 3 miles (or the route is deemed unsafe to walk). You can use our free school transport checker - https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/find-a-school-place. It shows the distance used for transport purposes, which is the shortest driving/walking route: this is different to the distance used for admissions purposes (straight line, or ‘as the crow flies’).
For your child to be considered for Free School Transport, you must include your nearest school, as identified in the checker above, in your application. If your child's nearest school is not included in their application, Free School Transport will not be provided to a school further away. Bear in mind that your nearest school may not be your catchment school. For grammar qualified children, an upper/all-ability school may be the nearest school – Free School Transport is not provided to grammar school unless it is the child’s nearest school.
More information about School Transport is available on the Bucks website:
https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/schools-index/school-transport/
If you need to contact us, please use the Bucks contact us form: https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/contactadmissions