THE new 11+ test has been hailed as a success by the grammar schools that ushered in the changes.

Most pupils got the results of the test on Friday, October 11 - and therefore know whether or not they are eligible for a place at grammar school next year.

Buckinghamshire County Council said that it could not confirm any figures for the results at this time, as some testing was still ongoing - it told the BFP a full breakdown of results would not be expected until the summer.

Philip Wayne, head teacher of Chesham Grammar School and chairman of Bucks Grammar School Heads Association, said: "We were pleased overall with the secondary transfer test both in terms of the process and its content. It was an excellent partnership between grammar schools, primary schools and the county council admissions service.

"Data is being analysed, but early feedback from our primary headteacher colleagues is that the test was appropriate for the purpose for which it was designed.

"There are superb schools all over the county to inspire children to learn and achieve."

It was announced at the end of last year that Bucks' grammar schools were to create a new kind of test, designed to measure a wider range of abilities and to tackle the issue of private tutoring.

They were to feature new types of question, created after extensive, modern research, which are not solely based around the previous verbal reasoning style.

The new testing system aimed to make it harder for children to be coached for the test - a commonplace situation for youngsters sitting the old style 11+.

There has been criticism that such coaching favours children from a more privileged background, with poorer families less able to afford private tuition