Buckinghamshire Selection Review 2026: What to Do in the 21 Days After Results Day

For families waiting for Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test results, the next few weeks are tightly defined. Children whose papers were received by the Admissions Team by 18 September 2026 receive their results on Friday 9 October 2026. The national deadline for secondary school applications is Saturday 31 October 2026.

For a child who scores below 121, there is another important date in between. If you receive the score on 9 October, a Selection Review case must be submitted in full by Friday 30 October 2026: exactly 21 days after results day and one day before the secondary school application deadline.

That timetable matters because Buckinghamshire operates differently from other selective areas. The score is a qualification threshold rather than a ranking system, and the Selection Review happens before places are allocated. Parents coming from other 11-plus systems should not assume the process works in the same way.

What Does A Buckinghamshire Selection Review Mean?

A Buckinghamshire Selection Review is the route available when a child has not reached the qualifying Secondary Transfer Test Score of 121, but the parent believes the child would be best suited to a grammar school.

The review is made in writing. Its purpose is not simply to ask the panel to reconsider a disappointing number. The case needs to explain why the result was not what would normally have been expected from the child, supported by evidence of strong academic performance and, where relevant, exceptional circumstances that affected performance in the test.

If the Selection Review Panel agrees, the child becomes qualified and is treated "the same as if they had scored 121 or higher in the test".

Any child who has not reached 121 can be put forward for a Selection Review. Buckinghamshire Council also gives parents some important historical context: most successful Selection Reviews have involved scores between 110 and 120, while children with lower scores are rarely successful. That is not an additional qualifying rule, but it is part of the information the council gives families considering whether to submit a case.

For the wider sequence from testing to applications, our Buckinghamshire transfer test guide explains how the different stages fit together.

Why Is 121 A Gate Rather Than A Ranking?

This is the feature of Buckinghamshire admissions that parents most need to understand.

Buckinghamshire Council says of the Secondary Transfer Test Score: "Your child's STTS is not used to work out whether they are likely to be offered a grammar school place. This is different from other areas with grammar schools."

In practical terms, 121 is a gate, not a rank.

A child scoring 121 qualifies. A child scoring 135 also qualifies. The child with 135 does not gain higher priority for a grammar school place simply because the score is higher. All children who reach 121 or more have passed the academic qualification stage.

After qualification, the relevant grammar school's admission rules determine who receives an offer when there are more qualified applicants than places. Buckinghamshire Council states that every year there are far more qualified children than grammar school places. Oversubscription criteria can include matters such as siblings and catchment area, according to each school's admissions policy.

That distinction is central to understanding why a Selection Review matters. A successful review does not award a place. It moves the child through the same qualification gate as a child who originally scored 121 or more. The child can then be considered under the admission rules of the grammar schools included on the family's application.

The test itself is marked by GL Assessment and then standardised for age in years and months on the test date. Standardised scores fall between 60 and 170. The final STTS is weighted 50% verbal skills, 25% mathematical skills and 25% non-verbal skills. Buckinghamshire Council says it expects about 37% of children to receive an STTS of 121 or more. Our guide to how 11-plus standardised scores work explains the concept in more detail.

This also helps explain why comparisons with other selective areas can be misleading. Families looking at South West Herts results or Bexley Selection Test results should not assume that score and allocation interact in exactly the same way as they do in Buckinghamshire.

When Are Buckinghamshire Selection Reviews Due?

For children whose papers reached the Admissions Team by 18 September 2026, results are released on Friday 9 October 2026. If that is when you receive your child's STTS, the complete Selection Review case must be submitted by Friday 30 October 2026.

The deadline is therefore 21 days after results day. It is also the day before the national secondary school application deadline of Saturday 31 October 2026.

If a result arrives later than 9 October, the position changes. A late Selection Review request is accepted where the result itself was issued later, in which case the case must be submitted within three weeks of being told the score. Late requests may also be accepted for exceptional reasons supported by independent evidence.

For a child who sits the test late, the final possible date to request a Selection Review is Friday 12 February 2027. After that, the available route is an Admission Appeal instead.

Families tracking the different release dates can also see our overview of 11-plus results dates for 2026.

How Do I Build A Buckinghamshire Selection Review Case?

The council describes a successful case as usually containing two things: strong academic evidence showing that the child is working at the level expected of a potential grammar school pupil, and evidence of exceptional reasons explaining why the test result was not what would normally have been expected.

The purpose of the evidence is therefore quite specific. It is to support the argument that, but for the exceptional circumstances, the child would have qualified.

A practical checklist is:

• Complete the Selection Review Request form using the child's Student ID from the results email.
• Provide the email address of the child's school or headteacher on that first form.
• Follow the emailed link to the second form and submit the full case and supporting evidence there.
• Include strong academic evidence, such as the Headteacher's Summary Sheet, school reports or supporting letters from the class teacher.
• Include independent evidence of exceptional circumstances where those circumstances form part of the case.
• Check that the second form has actually been submitted, because the review is not processed until that stage is complete.

The school or headteacher is contacted separately and invited to complete the Headteacher's Selection Review Summary Sheet. Parents receive a copy of the completed sheet, and it is included in the review automatically unless the parent says otherwise.

The three-week period is therefore not simply a writing deadline. It is the time in which the complete evidential case has to be assembled and submitted.

Keep your child working steadily through the waiting weeks with our free 11+ practice papers.

What Evidence Does The Panel Consider?

Academic evidence can include the Headteacher's Selection Review Summary Sheet, school reports and supporting letters from the class teacher.

The panel is also given the child's final STTS and the individual verbal, mathematical and non-verbal section scores.

There is an additional part of the headteacher evidence that may be unfamiliar to parents. Before results are known, headteachers at state-funded Buckinghamshire primary schools and Partner schools are asked whether they would recommend the child for grammar school.

The recommendation uses a four-point scale: exceptionally able and therefore very highly recommended; very able and recommended without reservation; recommended with reservation; or not recommended for grammar school.

Headteachers also rate attitude to learning using another four-point scale: enjoys a challenge and is a highly motivated independent learner; consistently hard working and reliable; output varies; or lacks self-organisation and requires support.

Evidence of exceptional circumstances might include a medical letter from a GP or hospital concerning illness affecting the child or a close family member; an employer's letter concerning a lengthy parental absence, particularly for forces families where a family member served in a combat zone; evidence of a death in the family near the time of the test; or evidence of a very recent house or school move.

There are also clear limits on what the panel will consider. Examples of school work cannot be considered. Evidence of extra-curricular participation, while described by the council as commendable, is also not considered for the review.

That keeps the focus on two questions: whether the academic evidence indicates grammar-school-level ability, and whether the evidence explains why the test score fell short of what would have been expected.

Who Decides A Buckinghamshire Selection Review?

Each Selection Review Panel consists of two grammar school headteachers and one primary school headteacher.

Panel members are trained. They do not consider cases involving children they know or children from schools in which they have an interest. They are also not told which secondary schools the family has applied for.

Where a case includes a report from an Educational Psychologist or a similar specialist professional, an Educational Psychologist or similar professional joins the panel. This also happens in every case where the child had access arrangements for the test.

The council's two relevant pages describe the timing of hearings slightly differently. The "Secondary Transfer Test results" page says, "Reviews will take place in December and January". The "Selection Review" page says, "Most Selection Reviews are heard between November and January".

Both pages give the same outcome date for reviews in the main period: Friday 12 February 2027. The child's school is told the result at the same time.

For parents, the important practical point is that this is a pre-allocation process. The review is decided early enough for a successful February outcome to be taken into account for National Offer Day on Monday 1 March 2027.

What Happens After A Buckinghamshire Selection Review?

If the review succeeds, the child becomes qualified and is treated in the same way as a child who scored 121 or more.

That means the child can be considered for a place at the grammar schools included in the secondary application, subject to each school's admission rules. A successful review heard in the main period is taken into account for National Offer Day. A later successful review is taken into account at the next allocation round.

If the review is unsuccessful, the child remains unqualified and cannot be considered for a grammar school place through the normal allocation process.

There is still a later admissions route. After National Offer Day on Monday 1 March 2027, a parent may ask for an Independent Admission Appeal for a place at a particular grammar school. Appeals take place from May 2027.

There is, however, an important consequence where a Selection Review has already taken place. At a later Independent Admission Appeal, the appeal panel must first decide whether the Selection Review process was "fair, consistent and objective" before it can consider the rest of the appeal. Our guide to the 11-plus appeals process explains that later stage.

A separate Pupil Premium route may also be relevant. All Buckinghamshire grammar schools offer some places to children who did not qualify but who receive the Pupil Premium grant, subject to the minimum score specified by the individual school and usually to living in that school's catchment area. Evidence of Pupil Premium entitlement and the test score must be sent to the relevant schools by the 31 October application deadline. This process is separate from a Selection Review, and families may use both.

Whatever happens with a review, the secondary school application itself must still be submitted by Saturday 31 October 2026 to the family's home local authority. Families living outside Buckinghamshire include Buckinghamshire grammar schools on that application in the usual way.

See every 11+ test and results date for 2026

FAQ

Can I ask for a Selection Review if my child scored below 110?

Yes. A review may be submitted for any child who did not reach the qualifying score of 121. Buckinghamshire Council says that historically most successful Selection Reviews have involved scores between 110 and 120 and that children with lower scores are rarely successful, but 110 is not stated as a minimum score for making a review request.

Should I request a remark before deciding about a Selection Review?

Buckinghamshire Council says a remark of the papers can be requested and that there is a cost. It advises parents to speak to the headteacher and says it is most unlikely that the papers were marked incorrectly. Candidates do not have a right to see their papers once they have been handed in. The Selection Review deadline still needs to be treated according to the timetable that applies to the child's result.

Does a successful Selection Review mean my child will get a grammar school place?

No. A successful review means the child becomes qualified, in the same way as a child who scored 121 or more. It does not itself secure a place. Where there are more qualified applicants than available places, each grammar school's own oversubscription criteria and admission rules determine allocation, including criteria such as siblings and catchment where those appear in the school's policy.