11+ pass marks and qualifying scores

There is no single 11+ pass mark. Each test, and sometimes each school, decides how results turn into places: some set a qualifying score that children must reach, some offer places in score order until they are full, and many do both, so check the admissions policy of every school on your list.

A standardised age score turns a raw mark into a score on a common scale where 100 is the average for children of the same age. It allows for age in months, so a child born in August isn't marked down for being nearly a year younger than a classmate born in September, and it lets papers of different difficulty be compared fairly.

A qualifying score is the official minimum a school or area uses to decide whether a child is eligible for a grammar school place; "pass mark" is the everyday name for it. Reaching it makes a child eligible, but places are then given out using the school's oversubscription criteria, such as distance or catchment.

Buckinghamshire Council treats a Secondary Transfer Test score of 121 or more as qualifying for its grammar schools. Children can also qualify through the council's Selection Review, and qualifying still doesn't guarantee a place at a particular school, because places are allocated under each school's oversubscription rules.

No. Qualifying makes a child eligible, but if more qualified children apply than there are places, the school uses its oversubscription criteria (often distance, catchment or priority areas) to decide who is offered a place. That is why it matters to list other schools you would be happy with on your application.

For schools that offer places by rank, the lowest score offered depends on how many children apply, how well they do and how many places there are that year, so it moves from year to year. Even fixed qualifying scores can be set or reviewed annually, so always use the figure published for your child's year of entry.

A school that ranks scores offers its places in score order, highest first, until it is full, sometimes after giving priority to children in a set area. There is no fixed pass mark, so the last score offered is only known after allocation and is different each year.

Look in the school's admissions policy (its determined admission arrangements) or the council's admissions booklet for your child's year of entry; they set out the qualifying score or how places are ranked. Our area guides and test guides link to the official pages we checked.

Some areas have a review stage for children close to the score, such as Buckinghamshire's Selection Review and Kent's head teacher panels, and every family refused a place has the right to appeal. Each area's process and deadlines are different, so read the council's or school's own guidance.