Apply to Aylesbury Grammar School, in plain English.
Everything a parent needs to know about a Year 7 place at Aylesbury Grammar School, a boys' grammar in Aylesbury, for September 2027 — the Bucks 11+, the score of 121 your son needs to qualify, the Aylesbury catchment that decides who gets priority when the school is full, and what to do if he misses out. The legal version is one click away.
The three things to know first.
If you read nothing else on this page, read these. They're the bits that catch Buckinghamshire parents out.
Your son needs 121 on the Bucks 11+.
Aylesbury Grammar only admits boys who score at least 121 on the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test — two papers covering verbal, non-verbal and maths reasoning, sat on the same day. Score 121 or more and he qualifies; below it, you can ask for a Selection Review.
You name the school on your council form.
Qualifying is not the same as applying. You must also list Aylesbury Grammar as a preference with your home council by 31 October 2026 — even if you live outside Buckinghamshire.
Catchment, then distance, decide.
If more boys qualify than there are places, the school looks at the Aylesbury catchment area (it covers Aylesbury, Wendover, Princes Risborough, Haddenham, Wing, Waddesdon and more) and then straight-line distance to its main entrance on Walton Road. A qualified boy living outside catchment can still get a place once those rules are exhausted.
Five steps, spread over a year.
From registering for the Bucks 11+ to your son starting Year 7. Step 3 is the deadline that catches families out — miss it and the rest doesn't matter. (Dates shown are for the September 2027 entry round.)
Qualify on the 11+ first — then these 10 rules decide.
Every boy who scores 121 or more is eligible. If more boys qualify than there are places, the school works down these ten rules in order. Tap any rule to see the document's exact wording.
In plain English: Qualified boys in the care of a council, or who were before being adopted (or made subject to a child arrangements or special guardianship order), get the very top priority — wherever they live.
What the document says: "Looked after boys and previously looked after boys." A looked-after boy is one in the care of a local authority; a previously looked-after boy is one who ceased to be so because they were adopted or became subject to a child arrangements or special guardianship order (including children adopted from state care outside England).
In plain English: Up to six places are set aside for looked-after boys living anywhere, and for in-catchment boys eligible for the Pupil Premium who scored 115–120 — just below the usual 121 threshold — and who did not qualify through a Selection Review. Looked-after boys come first within this rule.
What the document says: "Up to 6 places to looked after or previously looked after boys living anywhere, or other boys living in the catchment area … who are eligible for Pupil Premium … whose standardised score in the Secondary Transfer Test is 115 to 120 inclusive … and have not been deemed qualified by selection review." Pupil Premium entitlement must be evidenced on 31 October in the year before entry.
In plain English: Qualified boys who attract the Pupil Premium grant and live inside the catchment come next.
What the document says: "Boys living in the catchment area of the school as at and continuously from 1 September of the year preceding entry to Year 7 in September who are eligible for Pupil Premium as at the application deadline." Evidence of entitlement on 31 October should be sent directly to the school.
In plain English: If your son will have a brother on roll at Aylesbury Grammar when he starts Year 7, he gets priority here.
What the document says: "Siblings of boys who will be on roll of Aylesbury Grammar School at the date of the applicant boy's entry to Year 7 in September." A sibling includes full, half, adopted, foster and step-brothers who permanently live at the same home address as part of the same family unit.
In plain English: A brother of a girl on roll at Aylesbury High School also gets sibling priority here — the two Aylesbury grammars recognise each other's families.
What the document says: "Siblings of girls who will be on roll of Aylesbury High School at the date of the applicant boy's entry to Year 7 in September."
In plain English: If an older brother has already been through Aylesbury Grammar and left, your son still gets sibling priority — just one rung below current-pupil siblings.
What the document says: "Siblings of boys who have previously been on the roll of Aylesbury Grammar School."
In plain English: A qualified boy whose parent has worked at Aylesbury Grammar for at least two years, or was recruited into a hard-to-fill role.
What the document says: "Qualified children of Aylesbury Grammar School staff employed on a permanent contract by the school for at least two years at the time of application, or where the member of staff has been recruited to fill a post for which there is a demonstrable skills shortage."
In plain English: A qualified boy whose particular medical or social needs can only be met at Aylesbury Grammar, and nowhere else — you'll need written professional evidence.
What the document says: "Boys who have exceptional medical or social needs which can only be met at Aylesbury Grammar School, and no other school, where their application for admission is supported by written evidence from a doctor, social worker, educational welfare officer or other appropriately qualified person confirming this."
In plain English: All other qualified boys who live inside the Aylesbury catchment area come next, ranked among themselves by distance. You must have lived at the address continuously since 1 September of the year before entry.
What the document says: "Boys living in the catchment area of the school as at and continuously from 1 September of the year preceding entry to Year 7 in September." The catchment area is published on the school website and on Buckinghamshire Council's catchment-area checker.
In plain English: Any remaining qualified boy, wherever he lives, ranked by straight-line distance to the school's main entrance on Walton Road. This is how an out-of-catchment boy who scored 121 can still win a place.
What the document says: "All other boys." Where a category is oversubscribed, places are allocated "by reference to the distance between the applicant boy's home address … and the middle of the school's main entrance gate on Walton Road in a straight line, with those living closest receiving higher priority." If two boys live exactly the same distance away, a random draw decides.
A priority area, then a straight line.
Aylesbury Grammar shares the Aylesbury catchment area with Aylesbury High School and Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School — broadly Aylesbury, Wendover, Princes Risborough, Haddenham, Stoke Mandeville, Wing, Waddesdon, Quainton and Cheddington. Living inside it gives your son priority in rule 9 above. It is not a hard boundary: a qualified boy from outside catchment can still get a place under rule 10.
Where distance is used, the school measures a single straight line between your normal home address and the middle of its main entrance gate on Walton Road, using the council's Ordnance Survey measurements. Routes, bus times and travel difficulty are not considered. To count as in-catchment you must have lived at the address continuously since 1 September of the year before entry. You can check whether an address falls inside the line on the Bucks address checkerBuckinghamshire address checkerThe council's online tool that tells you which grammar-school catchment areas a postcode falls into..
See the catchment on the GrammarBound mapHow two addresses get ranked.
Both boys scored 121, both live in catchment, neither has a sibling at the school. Inside rule 9, House A's straight-line distance to the Walton Road entrance is shorter — so it ranks higher. If two addresses tie exactly, a random draw decides.
You have two routes, and you can use both.
Waiting list
From National Offer DayNational Offer DayThe single day around 1 March on which every English council releases secondary-school offers. You hear by email or letter. onwards, Buckinghamshire Council runs the waiting list through the County Scheme on the school's behalf, for entry into Years 7, 8 and 9. It is re-ranked every time a boy joins, using the same ten rules — so a later applicant in a higher rule can move above you. There is no simple "queue".
In-year vacancies and entry to other year groups are handled under the school's Late Transfer Procedure (curriculum tests coordinated with Buckinghamshire Council).
Appeal
Once places are allocated, you can appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel if your son was refused because the school is full. Buckinghamshire Council manages appeals on the school's behalf; your refusal letter sets the deadline and grounds. A panel hearing won't normally re-examine whether your son was capable of qualifying — that belongs to the Selection Review.
Appealing does not affect your waiting-list position.
If you believe your son would have reached 121 but for particular circumstances during the test, you can ask Buckinghamshire Council for a Selection Review. A panel of serving headteachers — taking advice from an educational psychologist where needed — decides before places are allocated. If they deem your son qualified, he is eligible for any of the 13 Bucks grammars. Children with an EHCP naming the school are admitted under separate statutory rules.
A separate route in at 16.
Alongside boys moving up from Year 11, the school admits external students into Year 12 — its published Year 12 admission number is 17 external places, and in recent years it has taken between 30 and 40 — on a different application and a GCSE grade floor.
The grade floor.
A minimum of 44 points across your best eight GCSEs (including English and Maths), with at least grade 5 in English Language or Literature and grade 5 in Maths, and at least grade 6 in the GCSE for each subject you want to take at A-level (some subjects ask for more — the Sixth Form prospectus sets these out). The entry requirements are the same for internal and external students.
Apply direct to the school.
External applicants apply through the school's own Sixth Form Application Form, which closes on the third Friday in January (15 January 2027 for September 2027 entry). Up to six places above the admission number are held for looked-after and Pupil Premium boys whose GCSE score would not otherwise qualify them, on amended requirements (33 points from the best six GCSEs, with grade 5 in English and Maths).