Sir William Borlase's Grammar School

Admissions

Information about admissions to Borlase can be found below.   Full information about the curriculum followed at Borlase, including A level options subjects, can be found on our Academic Departments page.

Year 7 Admission

Moving up to Secondary School in 2025

Admission to the school in Years 7 is overseen by Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC) and is dependent on performance in tests produced by GL Assessment. Most pupils take the ’11+’ in the first term of Year 6 and sit these tests in their own primary school.  Further information about the tests is available here.

Secondary Transfer Testing Registration

Children born between 1 September 2013 and 31 August 2014 will be moving up to secondary school to begin Year 7 in September 2025. If you would like your child to go to a Buckinghamshire grammar school then they need to take the Transfer Tests.

Secondary Transfer Test Timeline for 2025 Entry:

11 October 2024 - Test Results Published

31 October 2024 Deadline to submit a secondary school application to your home local authority

3 March 2025 - National Offer Day

Who needs to register for the Secondary Transfer Test?

Children who attend a Buckinghamshire LA primary school are automatically registered and will sit the test in their current school.

Children who attend Partner Schools need to be registered for testing. However, they will sit the test in their current school.

Children who attend all other schools will need to be registered for testing, and will sit the test at central venues in Buckinghamshire.

Results

The results will be sent to the person who registered their child to sit the test - by email - on the 11 October 2024 and Buckinghamshire Council set out on their website some helpful guidance on the next steps you might consider - Here

Selection Review

Buckinghamshire Council has a process and full explanation on applying for Selection Review and this is available via this Link

Late Entry and Immediate Admission

The late entry testing process is for the parents/carers of pupils who would like their child to be tested for possible entry to year 8 or year 9 in September 2025. At Borlase we undertake our own testing; details of all Bucks grammar late entry testing can be viewed by clicking on this link: Buckinghamshire Council Apply for Late Entry Testing

When considering late entry testing we believe you must be clear on the chances of gaining admission. We rarely have spaces for year 8 or year 9 as we are oversubscribed and school places are filled in year 7. 

As there are very few late entry grammar school places available to allocate to those who qualify, you should consider whether you wish for your child to follow through the process without any guarantee of a grammar school place being offered. It is very important to understand that if your child tests for year 8 and a place does not become available then they must retest, taking a Year 9 late entry test, if they wish to be considered for year 9 for the following year. Please note that during 22/23 only one student was admitted from the waiting list.

When can you Apply for September 2025 entry?

You can apply for testing from 7 October to 25 October 2024 

Testing Timeline

7 October: parents/Carers may apply for late entry testing and the application form is available by clicking on this link: Application Form

25 October: is the deadline for submitting evidence (where required):

  • You must register an address in order for us to consider your application. We require proof of address as part of the application. You must be resident in this address at the point of allocation. For further information please read the Admissions Policy which is available on this link: Admissions Policy

  • Year 6 SATs should be provided or evidence of passing the 11+ In the absence of either we need you to provide evidence that the student is working above expected levels via their most recent school reports. This needs to be an academic attainment and prediction report and not ‘attitude to learning’.

2 December: Invitations to sit the test on 23 January 2025, are sent via email

9 December: Confirmation of attendance must be returned 

23 January 2025: Late Transfer test takes place

24 March 2025: Results of testing for those who were tested on 23 January will be emailed to parents

The 1st round allocations are made for children who qualified at the test. Parents will be advised if a place can be offered.

If there are no available places, qualified children will be placed automatically on the waiting list. We will not advise parents/carers of the position of their child on a waiting list. If a place becomes available in the year, the first on the list would be contacted.

Living Overseas

If you are currently living overseas and moving to the UK or returning to your own property in Buckinghamshire for the academic year September 2025 please contact us directly as we may be able to arrange for the tests to be invigilated in their current school.

You will be required to provide proof of residence in our catchment. 

Service Families

Where service families or families of other crown servants, who often move within the UK and abroad are posted to the area, a unit postal address or quartering area address will be sufficient in the absence of a new home address.

Moving into Buckinghamshire

If you have moved into the catchment area after the deadline of 1 September 2024, please contact us directly.

Qualification

Students will sit 3 tests, English, Maths and a Modern Language (French, Spanish or German). They must pass all tests in order to qualify for a place.

Year 8 applicants will be required to sit French as their language paper.

Your child may qualify for a place but may not be offered a place if there are no places available.  If this happens you can appeal against the decision, but most appeals for grammar school places are not successful, even for qualified children.  This is because the school is already full, you should think carefully before making an appeal. If you wish to make an appeal on the basis of results you can use the same appeal process.

Disabilities or Special Educational Needs

If your child has special educational needs or a disability, you may want to think about whether the school would be the best learning environment for them.

If your child's special educational needs or disability has ‘a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities', you should talk to their current school headteacher. If your child's situation might make access to the test difficult, discuss whether special testing arrangements should be requested.

Requesting Special Adjustments

You will need to request adjustments if you'd like your child to take the late transfer test but believe that special adjustments will need to be made.  

When considering a request for adjustments, we look for:

  • Evidence from your child's current school to show how they change the delivery of the normal day-to-day curriculum to meet your child’s needs

  • Other professional evidence to support your request

We cannot offer extra marks to compensate for any special needs your child may have. This is because each child's case is different. It is impossible to say exactly how many marks would be appropriate. If we decide that your child:

  • Is disabled, within the terms of the Equality Act (2010)

  • Has a disability that will have a clear impact in relation to the format of the test

We offer appropriate and reasonable arrangements to make the test as accessible as possible.

This guidance is in line with the guidance provided by the Buckinghamshire Council Late Entry Testing Process

Identification and Fit for Testing Form

When your child arrives for testing, they must bring with them a completed Identification and Fitness to Test Form. This form is to enable you to confirm that your child is well on the test date.

You will receive more information about the 'identification and fit for testing' form with your testing invitation. You must fill in this form and bring it to the late transfer testing session. Without this form we'll not be able to test your child.

About the Test

The paper-based test is designed to assess a child’s suitability for grammar school.  The tests we use are the same or similar tests we give to our existing students at the same stage of learning and aim to test ability.

There is one late transfer test paper per subject and the papers are all 1 hour.

An invigilator will give the instructions for the test.

Illness on the Day of the Test

It is very important that if your child is unwell they do not take the late transfer test. 

If your child is unwell and is due to take the test, you must give us evidence to show why your child is not able to take the test. If the evidence shows there were exceptional reasons for your child not taking the test, we will offer one alternative test date.

If your child can not come to the tests at the grammar school due to illness, you'll need to send us a letter from your GP. This letter must confirm that your child was not well enough to take the test.

Testing for Other Year Groups

It is very rare for the school to test students for entry into Year 10 or 11 as GCSE courses have already started in Year 9.

Year groups are usually full and often options classes are also full. Schools follow different examination specifications and deliver course content in their own chosen sequence. See the Admissions Policy for more information on this.