Eleven-plusThe eleven-plus (11+) is a standardised examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academic selection. The name derives from the age group for secondary entry: 11–12 years. The eleven-plus was once used throughout the UK, but is now only used in counties and boroughs in England that offer selective schools instead of comprehensive schools.
TaplowTaplow is a village and civil parish in the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It sits on the left bank of the River Thames, facing Maidenhead in the neighbouring county of Berkshire, with Cippenham and Burnham to the east. It is the south-westernmost settlement in Buckinghamshire. The village features a Grade II listed mock-medieval church, the parish church of St Nicholas, as well as a school of the same name. Taplow railway station, on the Great Western Main Line, serves the village, with services to London Paddington, Reading and Oxford.
WolvertonWolverton is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, England. It is located in north-west Milton Keynes, beside the West Coast Main Line, the Grand Union Canal and the river Great Ouse. It is the administrative seat of Wolverton and Greenleys civil parish. It is one of the places in historic Buckinghamshire that went into the foundation of Milton Keynes in 1967. The village recorded in Domesday is known today as Old Wolverton but, because of peasant clearances in the early 17th century, only field markings remain of the medieval settlement.
University of BedfordshireThe University of Bedfordshire is a public research university with campuses in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England. The University has roots from 1882, however, it gained university status in 1993 as the University of Luton. The University changed its name to the University of Bedfordshire in 2006 by the approval of the Privy Council, following the merger of the University of Luton and the Bedford campus of De Montfort University.
Silverstone CircuitSilverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Towcester, Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 British Grand Prix at Silverstone was the first race in the newly created World Championship of Drivers. The race rotated between Silverstone, Aintree and Brands Hatch from 1955 to 1986, but settled permanently at the Silverstone track in 1987.
History of Milton KeynesThis history of Milton Keynes details its development from the earliest human settlements, through the plans for a 'new city' for 250,000 people in northern Southeast England, its subsequent urban design and development, to the present day. Milton Keynes is the largest settlement and only city in Buckinghamshire, founded in 1967. At the 2021 census, the population of its urban area was estimated to have exceeded 256,000. In the 1960s, the UK Government decided that a further generation of new towns in the South East of England was needed to relieve housing congestion in London.
Varsity LineThe Varsity Line was the main railway line that linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway. In World War II, the line became a strategic route for freight avoiding London, and additional connections were made to nearby lines to improve it, but was not greatly used for its intended purpose. After the war, the line was again scheduled to be developed as a strategic route, but that scheme was never fully implemented either.
Thames WaterThames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is a large private utility company responsible for the water supply and waste water treatment in most of Greater London, Luton, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, north Wiltshire, far west Kent, and some other parts of England; it has a considerable local monopoly. With origins dating back to the formation of the New River Company in 1609, Thames Water was established in 1989 during privatisation of the water industry in England and Wales.
TringTring trɪŋ is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from Central London. Tring is linked to London by the Roman road of Akeman Street, by the modern A41 road, by the Grand Union Canal and by the West Coast Main Line to London Euston. Settlements in Tring date back to prehistoric times and it was mentioned in the Domesday Book; the town received its market charter in 1315.