The decision after the result
121 is the Buckinghamshire qualifying score. Below it, the choice is about which process applies and what evidence you have. A result is not yet a refusal of a school place. The council’s results guidance sets out the options.
Selection Review
A written case about grammar-school suitability after a result below 121. Success gives qualified status across Buckinghamshire grammar schools; allocation still follows each school’s rules.
How to submit a review →Admission appeal
A case about admission to a particular school after it refuses a place. You may wait for this route or appeal after an unsuccessful review, but the panel’s starting point differs.
How a previous review matters →A separate pupil premium provision may also apply. Check the named school’s policy for its minimum score, eligibility evidence and any catchment condition. Buckinghamshire says this can be used alongside a Selection Review. Do not assume every child below 121 is considered under the same rules.
Dates and documents to keep together
These dates relate to September 2027 entry. A later result or exceptional late request needs the council’s specific instructions.
- Test result9 October 2026
- Read the score and qualification decisionSave the email and student ID, and keep the component scores with it.
- Full review case30 October 2026
- For results received on 9 OctoberThe initial request alone does not complete the review submission.
- Secondary application31 October 2026
- A separate deadlineApply through your home authority and name the grammar schools you want considered, alongside realistic alternatives.
- Review outcome12 February 2027
- For the main review periodKeep the decision with your original review evidence.
- School offers1 March 2027
- Read any refusal and appeal instructionsUse the published school appeal timetable; review dates are not appeal deadlines.
If you request a Selection Review
Use the official review instructions and speak to the headteacher promptly. There are two form stages: the request and then the full case. The council also seeks a headteacher summary. Check that the complete submission, including the evidence you intend to rely on, reaches the council in time.
- Academic informationUse relevant reports and teacher information to show the child’s usual attainment. Explain what each record establishes, rather than simply attaching everything available.
- Any exceptional circumstancesConnect the circumstances to the test date and result, with relevant supporting records. A description of a difficult day and evidence of academic suitability serve different purposes.
- The review recordKeep the forms, supporting documents, confirmation and final decision together. They may be relevant if a later school refusal leads to an appeal.
The council’s evidence instructions exclude samples of school work and extracurricular participation. Review those instructions before uploading documents. A review concerns qualification; it is not a place to rank preferred schools or make a school-capacity case.
How review affects a later appeal
For a child who remains non-qualified, the DfE’s selective-appeal guidance distinguishes whether a local review has already taken place.
- No Selection Review
- After a refusal, the panel considers evidence of the required academic standard and, where applicable, whether the child’s case outweighs the school’s case against admitting another pupil.
- An unsuccessful Selection Review
- The panel first considers whether the review was fair, consistent and objective. If it was, it does not rehear grammar-school suitability. If that requirement was not met, it can consider the remaining selective-appeal issues.
A successful review still does not guarantee an offer. If a qualified child is refused under the school’s oversubscription rules, read that refusal as a separate school-place decision.
Keep the allocated place while considering an appeal, record the school’s lodging and evidence deadlines, and prepare a separate case for each school. The appeal overview explains the hearing stages; the evidence guide helps organise the submission.
Common questions
A few things parents ask
Can I request a Selection Review and later appeal?
Yes, after a school refuses a place. An unsuccessful review changes the first question at the appeal: whether the review was fair, consistent and objective. It is not an automatic opportunity to repeat the academic case.
Does a successful Selection Review guarantee a place?
No. It gives the child qualified status for Buckinghamshire grammar schools. The schools named on the application still apply their admission rules to allocate places.
Can I wait for an appeal instead of requesting a review?
Buckinghamshire describes that option. Name the preferred grammar schools on the secondary application and wait for a refused place before lodging a school admission appeal. Read the council’s explanation before deciding between the routes.
What if the result arrives after 9 October 2026?
The council gives different timing for later results, normally a review request within three weeks of receiving the score, subject to its final cutoff and late-request rules. Follow the Selection Review page and your result communication.
Official sources
Reviewed 28 Sept 2026