Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School 11+ guide

Thinking about applying to Sir Henry Floyd Grammar 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 for Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School

• Address: Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School, Oxford Road, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP21 8PE
• Number of pupils: 1,300+
• Admissions contact: [email protected]
• Number of places in Year 7: 180
• 11+ exam: Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test
• Catchment area: Yes

Dates for your diary

• Friday 2nd May 2025: registration opens for the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test
• Friday 13th June 2025: registration closes for the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test
• Tuesday 9th September 2025: Buckinghamshire Practice Test
• Thursday 11th September 2025: Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test
• Friday 10th October 2025: parents receive results from the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test
• Friday 31st October 2025: secondary school common application deadline
• Monday 2nd March 2026: national school offers day

About Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School

Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School (SHFGS) is a co-educational grammar school in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. It welcomes students aged 11 to 18 and is known for its strong academic results and supportive environment. The school was founded in 1947 and is named after Sir Henry Floyd, a former Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire.

At SHFGS, students are encouraged to work together, challenge themselves, and achieve their best. The school has a house system with six houses – Ascott, Claydon, Hartwell, Mentmore, Stowe, and Waddesdon. This helps students feel part of a team and take part in competitions and activities throughout the year.

The school offers a broad and exciting curriculum, including the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). This gives students a global approach to learning and prepares them for life beyond school. Performing arts and sports are also important at SHFGS. The school has a theatre, music studios, and sports fields, encouraging students to take part in clubs, performances, and competitions.

How to apply to Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School

Sir Henry Floyd Grammar 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 on Friday 2nd May 2025 and closes on Friday 13th June 2025.

A practice test will take place on Tuesday 9th September 2025, and the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test will be held on Thursday 11th September. If your child attends a Buckinghamshire primary school, they will take both the practice test and the exam at their school. If your child attends any other school, they will take the practice test and the exam at a grammar school test centre.

You'll find out if your child has met the eligible score in the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test on Friday 10th October 2025. You can then use these results to decide whether to apply for a place at Sir Henry Floyd Grammar 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 Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School below.

How does place allocation work at Sir Henry Floyd Grammar 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 180 children applying to Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School achieve a score of 121 or higher, the school applies oversubscription criteria. Children are prioritised for places in the following order:

1. Looked after children and previously looked after children, and children who qualify for free school meals
2. Children who qualify for the pupil premium grant
3. Siblings of students who are on roll at Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School
4. Children of staff working at the Insignis Academy Trust, who have been employed for two or more years
5. Children who live in the catchment area and will continuously live in the catchment area from 1st September of the year before entry
6. Any further places are then offered in distance order (using the distance between the child's main home address and the school)

Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School has a catchment area. This includes Aylesbury, Princes Risborough, and surrounding areas. A catchment area map is available on the school website.

How can I help my child prepare for the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test?

The Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test is designed to be difficult. 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 test. 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

The Secondary Transfer Test assesses 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.

Buckinghamshire 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.