Guide to grammar schools and the Secondary Transfer Test

Last updated: 15 April 2024

Testing outside the normal year group

Underage testing

Sometimes we agree that a child can take the Secondary Transfer Test before the school year in which they are 11. This only happens if your child is of outstanding academic ability.

Your child will also need to:

  • be very mature
  • have been working well with other pupils in the year group above them for several years

We will not agree to test an under-age child if they have only been in some classes with older children.

We will also not test a child if they have only been working in a mixed year group class.

Over-age testing

If your child’s education was delayed (for example if they started school a year late because they were summer-born, or if you lived abroad), normally they will sit the test at the same time as their classmates, and they will progress to secondary school with the same cohort. Please refer to the admissions policy for your preferred school(s) for further information.

Contact us about testing

You should contact school admissions about testing outside the normal year group, if your child does not attend a state funded Buckinghamshire primary school. Contact us before the registration deadline on 14 June.

View more information about children being educated outside their normal year group.