Quick answer
Buckinghamshire is unusually clear compared with many selective routes: 121 is the qualifying score, and extra marks above that point are not used to rank ordinary admissions priority. The hard work after a qualifying result is checking which schools fit the family address, policy and journey.
- The Secondary Transfer Test Score is built from standardised scores across verbal, mathematical and non-verbal skills.
- Buckinghamshire states that 121 or above qualifies the child for grammar school.
- Buckinghamshire also states that the STTS is not used to decide whether a child receives a grammar school offer.
What the Buckinghamshire score is
Buckinghamshire calls the final result the Secondary Transfer Test Score, or STTS. It combines standardised scores from two papers, with weighting across verbal skills, mathematical skills and non-verbal skills.
The public number parents usually focus on is 121. If the child scores 121 or above, Buckinghamshire says they qualify for grammar school. Below 121, parents need to read the review and appeal routes carefully rather than assuming a school can simply ignore the result.
Why 121 changes the question
121 or above
- Meaning
- The child qualifies for Buckinghamshire grammar school.
- What matters next
- The admissions policy and address-based rules for the named school.
Well above 121
- Meaning
- Still a qualifying result, but not a higher admissions priority under the county rule.
- What matters next
- Do not reorder the CAF just because one score looks stronger than another.
Below 121
- Meaning
- The child has not qualified through the automatic score route.
- What matters next
- The official selection review guidance and later appeal position.
Example
A child scores 129. In many areas parents would ask whether that is “enough” for a particular school. In Buckinghamshire, that is the wrong reading. The child has qualified, but the higher score is not used as an admissions rule. The next useful questions are where the child lives, which school is named, and how that school applies its published criteria.
Another child scores exactly 121. That result is not a weaker category of qualification. It qualifies the child in the same way as a higher qualifying score for the purpose Buckinghamshire describes.
What parents should check
-
Whether the result is 121 or above
That is the first dividing line in the Buckinghamshire route.
-
The named school policy
Qualification does not decide which Buckinghamshire grammar school, if any, will be offered.
-
Catchment, distance and linked priority detail
The school-level admissions arrangements matter more than extra marks above 121.
-
The exact review or appeal route if below 121
Use Buckinghamshire's current process rather than informal score comparisons.