Girls' selective grammar, Outstanding Ofsted (December 2019), 186 Year 7 places for September 2027, entry via the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test. Structured one-to-one 11+ preparation from Leading Tuition for the September 2027 entry round.
Book a Free ConsultationBeaconsfield High School is a girls' selective grammar school on Wattleton Road in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. It is one of thirteen grammar schools in the county, all of which admit pupils through the same countywide assessment, the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test (Bucks STT), rather than a school-set entrance exam. The school was rated Outstanding by Ofsted at its inspection in December 2019 (a further inspection took place in December 2024, but Ofsted no longer gives state schools an overall grade since September 2024), and its Year 7 published admission number (PAN) rose to 186 places for entry in September 2027, up from 180 the previous year. Demand for places is high: The Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools describe the county's grammar schools as usually significantly oversubscribed, so which qualified girls are offered a place depends on the school's oversubscription criteria, set out below.
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For the exact registration rules, see the council's Secondary Transfer Test registration page.
Updated for September 2028 entry — October 2026
For September 2028 entry (the 2027 test, Year 5 now), Buckinghamshire Council publishes a month-level timeline: registration in May to June 2027, tests in early September 2027 and results in mid-October 2027. The application deadline for September 2028 entry is listed as 31 October 2027.
For September 2027 entry (the 2026 test, Year 6 now), results have been released, the application deadline was 31 October 2026 and National Offer Day is 1 March 2027. The dates come from the Buckinghamshire Council timeline for 2028 entry.
For families new to the Buckinghamshire system, the most important thing to understand is that Beaconsfield High School does not set or mark its own 11+ paper. Every child applying to any Bucks grammar school sits the same Secondary Transfer Test (some out-of-county sessions may be scheduled slightly later than the main dates), and a standardised score from that test then determines eligibility; the score is not used to rank applicants for places. Whether a qualified child is actually offered a place depends on Beaconsfield's own oversubscription criteria — which include a distinctive priority category for Pupil Premium-eligible children in the catchment area, described in detail below — and, where a place is available at more than one school on the application, on which of them the family ranked highest.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| School name | Beaconsfield High School |
| Type | Girls' selective grammar, Year 7–13 |
| Address | Wattleton Road, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, HP9 1RR |
| Entrance test | Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test (Bucks STT), GL Assessment |
| Test subjects | Verbal skills (English comprehension, technical English, verbal reasoning), non-verbal and spatial reasoning, mathematics |
| Year 7 places (Sept 2027 entry) | 186 (published admission number) |
| Test dates (September 2027 entry) | Practice Test 8 Sept 2026; Transfer Test 10 Sept 2026 (for most children) |
| Ofsted rating | Outstanding (inspection of 11 December 2019) |
Source: Beaconsfield High School's admissions policy for September 2027 entry, Buckinghamshire Council, The Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools and Ofsted, retrieved 24 October 2026.
Buckinghamshire has 13 grammar schools, and Beaconsfield High School takes its Year 7 pupils through the countywide Secondary Transfer Test. Children who attend a state-funded primary school in Buckinghamshire are entered for the test automatically; all other children, including those living outside the county or attending an independent school or a Partner School, must be registered by their families through Buckinghamshire Council during the registration window, which for September 2027 entry ran from 1 May to 2 June (3pm) 2026. Families should check the council's own Secondary Transfer Test registration page each year, because the dates are published for each entry year separately.
The test itself is produced by GL Assessment for The Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools, and Buckinghamshire Council administers the testing process. It covers verbal, non-verbal and mathematical skills in two multiple-choice papers taken on the same day, each about 45 minutes of test time (about an hour including the introduction and practice examples); the verbal paper includes English comprehension, technical English and verbal reasoning questions. For September 2027 entry, most children sat a Practice Test on Tuesday 8 September 2026, followed by the Transfer Test itself on Thursday 10 September 2026, either in school (for children at state-funded Buckinghamshire primary schools and Partner Schools) or at a grammar school test centre; some out-of-county sessions may have been scheduled slightly later. Families who registered for testing were sent a test invitation by email by 7 August 2026. Scores are standardised for age, taking into account each child's age in years and months on the date they take the test, so no child is unfairly advantaged or disadvantaged because of their age.
Results were released on Friday 9 October 2026 (most parents were informed by email after 4pm), before the September 2027 entry secondary school application deadline of Saturday 31 October 2026, the date by which families submit their ranked school preferences to their home local authority. A standardised score of at least 121 is generally required to automatically qualify a child as "grammar school-able" across Buckinghamshire; Beaconsfield High School's own admissions policy additionally allows some flexibility for Pupil Premium-eligible children within its catchment, discussed in the next section. National Offer Day for secondary school places, the date on which families across England learn which school their child has been allocated, falls on 1 March in the offer year.
| Milestone | Date (September 2027 entry) |
|---|---|
| STT registration window | 1 May – 2 June 2026 |
| Test invitations sent | By 7 August 2026 |
| Address cut-off date | 1 September 2026 |
| Practice Test | 8 September 2026 (for most children) |
| Transfer Test | 10 September 2026 (for most children) |
| Results issued | 9 October 2026 |
| Secondary application deadline (CAF) | 31 October 2026 |
| National Offer Day | 1 March 2027 |
Source: Buckinghamshire Council, The Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools and Beaconsfield High School's admissions policy for September 2027 entry, retrieved 24 October 2026.
Families with a child in Year 5 in the 2026/27 school year, who will move up to secondary school in September 2028, should expect the registration window to open between May and June 2027, with the Practice Test and Transfer Test in early September 2027. Always confirm each year's dates with the council and the school directly.
Passing the Secondary Transfer Test makes a child eligible to be considered for any Buckinghamshire grammar school; it does not by itself secure a place at a specific school. Where Beaconsfield High School receives more qualified applications than it has places, offers are made according to a published order of oversubscription criteria. Understanding this order matters because it shapes how families should think about catchment and sisters when completing their application.
According to the school's published admissions policy for September 2027 entry, places are allocated in this sequence once looked-after and previously looked-after children have been placed first:
Two features of this list are worth highlighting to families researching Beaconsfield specifically. First, the reserved Pupil Premium quota — up to ten places for catchment girls scoring 115 or above even if they fall short of the standard 121 qualifying mark — is set in the school's own admissions policy, and Buckinghamshire Council says each grammar school specifies its own minimum score for non-qualified Pupil Premium children. Second, distance is measured in a straight line rather than along a walking or driving route, and the 2027 policy gives two definitions: the rules measure from the family's normal home address to the main entrance to the school on Wattleton Road, while Appendix 1 measures to the nearest open school gate available for girls to use. The school publishes a catchment map alongside its full policy document, and families should check their specific address against it rather than relying on postcode alone.
Because every Buckinghamshire grammar school uses the same standardised test, a child who qualifies is suitable for any Buckinghamshire grammar school (Buckinghamshire Council), not just the one nearest home, although four of the thirteen are boys' schools. Preference order on the application form still matters, but not for the chance of a place: Buckinghamshire uses an equal preference scheme, so the order does not change a child's chance of a place at any one school, and where a place is available at more than one of the schools listed, the highest-ranked preference is the one offered. The school's own admissions page advises families to put Beaconsfield High as their first choice. For a broader view of how Buckinghamshire's grammar schools compare, our Bucks Grammar Schools guide and our detailed Beaconsfield High School 11+ guide cover the wider county picture and school-by-school competition data in more depth than this page.
Preparing for Beaconsfield High School 11+ Entry?
Our specialist tutors know the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test format inside out — verbal, non-verbal and maths skills, taught by tutors who understand how GL Assessment questions are structured and marked. We build a personalised programme around your child's Year 6 test date, or plan ahead from Year 3 or Year 4 for a future cycle.
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Book a Free ConsultationIn the Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools' Transfer Test Analysis for September 2027 entry (provisional, initial update), 9,217 children, including some living outside Buckinghamshire, sat the Secondary Transfer Test and 3,459 scored 121 or more (38% of those who sat it). Across the 13 grammar schools, the autumn update to the September 2026 allocations table shows 2,388 places allocated. In the same allocations table for September 2026 entry (allocations as at 18 September 2026), 186 pupils were allocated places at Beaconsfield High School, 172 of them (92%) living in Buckinghamshire.
It is worth being precise about what the qualifying score actually determines. Reaching the standardised threshold makes a child eligible for grammar school entry in general — it does not guarantee a place at Beaconsfield specifically. Because Buckinghamshire grammar schools do not use the score as an admission rule, a score above 121 gives a child no higher priority for a place; if Beaconsfield is oversubscribed with qualified applicants, the oversubscription criteria above decide who is offered one. Entry depends on whether a child reaches 121, not on how far above it they score, so the aim is a secure qualifying score on test day.
The other factor families sometimes underestimate is how differently the three test components reward preparation. Mathematics and English content in the test does not go beyond what the national curriculum expects children to know by the end of Year 5. Verbal and non-verbal reasoning are different: the question types vary from year to year, and The Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools provide familiarisation materials to parents of Year 5 children in the summer term. A child can be excellent at school and still find their first verbal reasoning paper baffling simply because nobody has taught them the conventions of the question types. This is precisely where structured tuition tends to produce the fastest, most visible gains, because the skills are trainable but rarely self-taught.
Leading Tuition's specialist 11+ tuition programme works with families across Beaconsfield, Gerrards Cross, Amersham, Chalfont St Peter and the wider south Buckinghamshire area to prepare girls for the Secondary Transfer Test. Every programme starts with a diagnostic assessment across verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and mathematics, which tells us precisely where your daughter stands relative to the standardised score she will need, and identifies the specific question types and content gaps to prioritise rather than starting from a generic workbook plan.
For families beginning in Year 4 or early Year 5 — the timing we recommend for most children — the first phase of the programme builds the underlying maths curriculum securely and introduces verbal and non-verbal reasoning formats without time pressure, so your daughter understands the logic behind each question type before she is asked to work quickly. The second phase moves to progressively harder timed practice, with regular short diagnostics at the start of each session to catch any drift early and adjust the following week's focus. In the final phase, in the months immediately before the September Transfer Test, we shift to full timed mock papers under realistic exam conditions, building the stamina, pacing and composure that matter as much as raw ability on test day itself.
We also help families navigate the administrative side of the Buckinghamshire process: registration windows, the address cut-off date, how the order of preferences works under Buckinghamshire's equal preference scheme, and — where relevant — how Beaconsfield's Pupil Premium and catchment criteria might affect a family's specific circumstances. Because every Buckinghamshire grammar school uses the same test, many of the families we work with are also considering Dr Challoner's High School, Wycombe High School or one of the other county grammars alongside Beaconsfield; our tutors prepare children for the shared Bucks STT format rather than for one school in isolation, so the same programme supports every preference on the application form.
Every session is followed by a short note to parents on what was covered and what to reinforce at home, and we review progress formally at set intervals throughout the programme so you always know where your daughter stands relative to the qualifying score. Where a child is starting later — for example, in the summer term before a September test — we adjust the pace of the programme accordingly, prioritising the highest-impact content first rather than attempting to cover everything at the same depth.
Leading Tuition is rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 59 reviews, read on 3 October 2026, and 91% of our students achieve their desired grades.
Girls now in Year 5 sit the 2027 test for September 2028 entry. Buckinghamshire Council publishes month-level dates only, so each stage below is described as the council lists it.
Registration for September 2028 entry is listed for May to June 2027. Children at a state-funded Buckinghamshire primary school are entered automatically; other families register with the council.
Both tests are listed for early September 2027, taken in school or at a grammar school test centre depending on the school the child attends.
Secondary Transfer Test results are listed for mid-October 2027, with 121 the qualifying score for September 2027 entry.
The deadline to submit a secondary school application to your home local authority is listed as 31 October 2027.
Full detail is on the council's registration page.
Reviewed October 2026: dates, figures and rules checked against Buckinghamshire Council's registration, results and September 2028 entry timeline pages.
No. Beaconsfield High School does not set its own entrance examination. Like every grammar school in Buckinghamshire, it admits pupils through the countywide Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test (Bucks STT), produced by GL Assessment, administered by Buckinghamshire Council for The Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools, and covering verbal, non-verbal and mathematical skills. Children sit the same Secondary Transfer Test on the published dates (some out-of-county sessions may be scheduled slightly later, and children who are unwell on the day can take a later test), and a standardised score of 121 or more then qualifies a child for any Buckinghamshire grammar school, including Beaconsfield.
For the September 2027 entry round, the Practice Test was held on Tuesday 8 September 2026 and the Transfer Test itself on Thursday 10 September 2026 for most children; some out-of-county sessions may have been scheduled slightly later. Results were released on Friday 9 October 2026, with most parents informed by email after 4pm, and the secondary school application deadline for September 2027 entry was Saturday 31 October 2026. Families should always confirm each year's dates on Buckinghamshire Council's Secondary Transfer Test pages.
Beaconsfield High School's published admission number for September 2027 entry is 186 places, an increase from 180 the previous year. A standardised score of at least 121 generally qualifies a child as grammar school-able across Buckinghamshire. Beaconsfield's own admissions policy additionally reserves up to ten catchment places for Pupil Premium-eligible girls who score at least 115, even if they fall short of the standard qualifying threshold.
Beaconsfield High School publishes a designated catchment map alongside its admissions policy. If the school is oversubscribed with qualified applicants, priority is given first to looked-after children, then to catchment girls under specific Pupil Premium criteria, then to sisters of current pupils who live in the catchment area and to children of staff, before moving to qualified girls in the catchment area ranked by straight-line distance from home to the school. Sisters living outside the catchment area, and then other qualified girls from outside it, come after that, ranked by distance. The school's admissions page says it has admitted some students living outside the catchment area in recent years.
The Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test is produced by GL Assessment and is unique to Buckinghamshire: a new test is created and used each year. Because the question types vary each year, practice should cover a broad range of verbal, non-verbal and mathematical question types rather than a fixed set of papers. Scores are standardised for age, so children born later in the school year are not disadvantaged relative to older classmates.
We recommend starting structured preparation in Year 4 or early Year 5, roughly one to two years before the test, which is taken in early September at the start of Year 6. This allows time to build maths fluency, introduce verbal and non-verbal reasoning question types without time pressure, and move gradually towards full timed mock papers in the final months. Starting in the summer term immediately before the test is workable but compresses preparation considerably, so we adjust the pace and priorities for families who begin later.
Leading Tuition provides specialist, one-to-one 11+ tuition for Beaconsfield High School and every Buckinghamshire grammar school, covering the full Bucks Secondary Transfer Test: verbal, non-verbal and mathematical skills. We begin with a diagnostic assessment, build a personalised programme around your daughter's specific gaps, and move to timed mock papers as her test date approaches. Book a free consultation or message us on WhatsApp to discuss current availability.