The New 11+ Exam

A new type of 11+ exam that you need to know about.

As most parents will be aware, in November 2017 the Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools announced the new 11+ exam format for children sitting the tests in 2018 and beyond.

Before 2013, GL Assessment set the exams which consisted of 22 question types. From 2013, the exams, officially called the Secondary Transfer Test, were set by Durham CEM and focused principally on English and Maths with a lesser element of Non-Verbal Reasoning (NVR). Now, for pupils sitting the exams in 2018 and beyond, GL Assessment have re-captured the Buckinghamshire contract.

The new exam will cover five subjects: English, Maths, Spatial reasoning, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. More information can be found on the Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools’ own website - www.thebucksgrammarschools.org. This includes a link to GL Assessment’s website which contains some extensive (though not comprehensive) familiarisation materials, so parents can get a sense of what the exams will contain. Please be aware that these materials are designed for pupils who are ready to sit the exams; children who are still in the early stages of the MasterClass course should not be exposed to them yet!

I have been tutoring children to pass the Buckinghamshire 11+ exams for nearly 20 years so I have unrivalled experience of both GL Assessment’s and CEM’s styles of test. I had already anticipated what the new exam would consist of and I have devised a programme of work that will cover the whole syllabus.