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Thinking about applying to Royal Latin School? Find out everything you need to know about admissions and how to prepare your child for success in the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test.
Key information about Royal Latin School
Address: Royal Latin School, Chandos Road, Buckingham MK18 1AX
Number of pupils: 1,300+
Admissions contact: [email protected]
Number of places in Year 7: 174
11+ exam: Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test
Catchment area: Yes
Dates for your diary
The 2025 exam dates haven’t been published yet. However, they are likely to be the same as 2024. Please use the dates below as a guide.
11+ registration opens: Friday 3rd May 2024
11+ registration closes: Friday 14th June 2024
11+ exam date: Thursday 12th September 2024
11+ results released: Friday 11th October 2024
Secondary school application deadline: 31st October 2024
School allocations: 3rd March 2025
About Royal Latin School
The Royal Latin School is a grammar school for boys and girls aged 11 to 18 in Buckingham. It is the oldest school in Buckinghamshire with 600 years of story. It was indeed founded in 1423.
The Royal Latin School has high standards for its students. They make exceptional progress and achieve outstanding exam results every year. 'Latin Learning' – a philosophy created by teachers and students – is the basis of teaching and learning at the school. It stands for Leadership, Aspiration, Teamwork, Innovation, and Nurturing. Latin Learning is the focus of the school and its departments development plans, staff targets and a balanced curriculum.
Students at the Royal Latin School have access to a variety of enrichment opportunities. These include the Duke of Edinburgh Award, local leadership and volunteering opportunities. They also enjoy off-timetable enrichment days, trips and visits. Music lessons, house competitions, and extracurricular clubs and teams are also offered.
How to apply to Royal Latin School
Royal Latin School is a selective school. This means that your child will need to take the 11 plus exam to be eligible for a place. In Buckinghamshire, the 11 plus is known as the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test.
All children who go to a primary school in Buckinghamshire are entered to take the test. This means that you will not need to register your child separately.
If your child goes to a primary school outside of Buckinghamshire, you’ll need to register them to take the test. Registration for the 2025 exam opens in May 2025 and closes in mid-June.
The Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test will take place in early September 2025. You’ll receive your child’s results in October. You can then use these results to decide whether to apply for a place at Royal Latin School.
To apply, you’ll need to name the school as one of your preferred schools on the secondary school common application form. This will be available on your home council website from early September and must be submitted by 31st October 2025.
Remember – passing the entrance exam doesn’t guarantee that your child will be allocated a place at your preferred school. Many grammar schools are often oversubscribed with qualified children. Schools and their admissions authorities work through admissions criteria to prioritise children for places. We’ve included the admissions criteria for Royal Latin School below.
What subjects are on the Secondary Transfer Test?
The Secondary Transfer Test consists of two one-hour papers supplied by GL Assessment.
One paper tests verbal skills. This includes English comprehension, technical English, and verbal reasoning.
The other paper tests maths and non-verbal skills. This includes Key Stage 2 maths, non-verbal reasoning and spatial reasoning.
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How does place allocation work at Royal Latin School?
Your child’s total score in the entrance exam will be age-standardised and weighted. Find out how this mark is worked out in our guide to the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test.
The qualifying mark for entry to Buckinghamshire grammar schools is 121. Children are not ranked beyond this point – places are then based on your target school’s admissions criteria.
If more than 174 children applying to Royal Latin School achieve a score of 121 or higher, the school applies oversubscription criteria. Children are prioritised for places in the following order:
Looked after and previously looked after children
Children living in the catchment area
Siblings of children on roll at the Royal Latin School
Qualified children of staff at the Royal Latin School
Children who have exceptional medical or social needs that can only be met at the school
Children who qualify for pupil premium
Up to 6 places are ring-fenced for children whose standardised score in the Secondary Transfer Test is between 110 and 120 and who have not been deemed to qualify following a selection review. These children are defined as looked after or previously looked after, or living in the catchment area and eligible for the pupil premium
Siblings of children who have previously attended the Royal Latin School
All further places will be offered in distance order, with priority given to children living closest to the school
How can I help my child prepare for the Buckinghamshire Test?
The Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test is designed to be challenging. Here are our top tips to help your child prepare for the exam in September 2025.
Bitesize learning
It’s important to build a good knowledge base before the 11 plus. Using a ‘little and often’ approach when learning is key – our brains encode new information more effectively when dealing with smaller ‘chunks’ of information. For children aged 10–11, child psychologists recommend regular study sessions of 20–30 minutes.
Atom Home makes learning a more enjoyable process for your child. They'll explore exciting worlds full of interactive questions, earning coins to spend in the Atom shop. Atom adapts to your child, showing them questions at just the right level of difficulty to keep them motivated.
Read widely
11 plus exams test your child’s ability to analyse and interpret written information. Regular reading is a great way to help your child build these skills.
Encourage them to read books from different genres and by a diverse range of authors. Increasing the variety of your child’s reading will help them understand different styles, tones and purposes. Meanwhile, reading a little every day will help widen their vocabulary, sharpen their analytical thinking, and enhance their imagination.
Refine exam technique
When your child feels confident with the topics they’ve learnt in Year 5, they’ll be ready to put their knowledge to the test.
Practice tests can help your child develop problem-solving skills and build confidence working under test conditions. They’re also a great way to consolidate learning and highlight knowledge gaps for further improvement.
With Atom Home, you'll unlock online mock tests and printable practice papers. Enjoy automatic marking and progress tracking with the online tests, and help your child get familiar with the real exam experience with printable practice papers.
Celebrate progress
Setting regular, achievable goals and celebrating your child’s progress – no matter how big or small – will help keep their motivation high.
Make sure to encourage a growth mindset. This means celebrating effort, as well as achievement! When your child makes mistakes or struggles to understand a particular topic, help them understand that they’ll improve through practice. Regular praise will help your child improve their resilience when tackling new and challenging topics.
Tailored preparation for the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test
Wish you could give your child a roadmap to success in the Secondary Transfer Test? You can. Atom Home has everything you need to get prepared, in one package.
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Navigate the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test with confidence.
Start your free trial today. Our local admissions specialists will get to work on your child’s plan. Relax, Secondary Transfer Test prep is sorted.
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