Apply to Burnham Grammar School, in plain English.
Everything a parent needs to know about a Year 7 place at Burnham Grammar School, a co-educational grammar near Slough on the southern edge of Buckinghamshire, for September 2027 — the Bucks 11+, the score of 121 your child needs to qualify, the south Buckinghamshire catchment that decides who gets priority when the school is full, and what to do if they miss 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 child needs 121 on the Bucks 11+.
Burnham only admits children 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 they qualify; 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 Burnham Grammar School as a preference with your home council by 31 October 2026 — even if you live outside Buckinghamshire.
Catchment, then distance, decide.
If more children qualify than there are places, the school looks at its south Buckinghamshire catchment area (it covers Burnham, Taplow, the Farnhams, Stoke Poges and the surrounding villages) and then straight-line distance to its entrance on Hogfair Lane. A qualified child 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 child 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 9 rules decide.
Every child who scores 121 or more is eligible. If more children qualify than there are places, the school works down these nine rules in order. Tap any rule to see the document's exact wording.
In plain English: Qualified children 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 children and previously looked after children." A looked-after child is one in the care of a local authority; a previously looked-after child 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 children scoring 115–120 — just below the usual 121 threshold — who are either looked-after, or living in the catchment and eligible for the Pupil Premium, and who did not otherwise qualify. Looked-after children in this group come first, then the tie-breaker decides.
What the document says: "Up to 6 places to looked after or previously looked after children living anywhere, or other children living in the catchment area of the school … who are eligible for Pupil Premium funding as at the application deadline … whose standardised score in the Secondary Transfer Test is 115 to 120 inclusive … and who have not been deemed to have qualified following a selection review." Looked-after children in this category are prioritised over other children.
In plain English: Qualified children who attract the Pupil Premium grant and live inside the catchment come next. (The Pupil Premium here includes the Service Premium for armed-forces families.)
What the document says: "Children living within the catchment area of the school as at and continuously from 1st September of the year preceding entry to Year 7 in September who are eligible for Pupil Premium funding as at the application deadline." Entitlement on 31 October in the year before entry must be evidenced; tell the school via admissions@burnhamgrammar.org.uk by the deadline.
In plain English: If your child will have a brother or sister on roll at Burnham Grammar School when they start, they get priority here.
What the document says: "Siblings of children who will be on the roll of Burnham Grammar School at the date of the applicant children's entry to Year 7 in September." A sibling shares one or both parents, is a step- or foster-sibling, or is the child of a parent's cohabiting partner — and must live permanently at the same home address as part of the same family unit.
In plain English: Children whose brother or sister used to be on roll at Burnham Grammar School — but has since left — come next, just below current siblings.
What the document says: "Siblings of children who have previously been on the roll of Burnham Grammar School." The same definition of a sibling applies as for the rule above.
In plain English: A qualified child whose particular medical or social needs can only be met at Burnham Grammar School, and nowhere else — you'll need written professional evidence.
What the document says: "Children who have exceptional medical or social needs which can only be met at Burnham 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: A qualified child whose parent has worked at Burnham Grammar School for at least two years, or was recruited into a hard-to-fill role.
What the document says: "Qualified children of staff a) where the member of staff has been employed on a permanent contract at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made, and/or b) the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage." Staff must inform the school they qualify, via admissions@burnhamgrammar.org.uk, by the application deadline.
In plain English: All other qualified children who live inside the south Bucks 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: "Children living in the catchment area of the school as at and continuously from 1st September of the year preceding entry to Year 7 in September." The catchment area is defined in the County Scheme and illustrated on the school's website and on Buckinghamshire Council's catchment-area checker.
In plain English: Any remaining qualified child, wherever they live, ranked by straight-line distance to the school's nearest gate on Hogfair Lane. This is how an out-of-catchment child who scored 121 can still win a place.
What the document says: "All other children." Within each category above, where applicants exceed the places available, "places will be allocated by distance order … calculated in a straight line from the student's home address to the nearest school gate, offering to the closest first, using the method adopted by Buckinghamshire Council." If two children live exactly the same distance away, a supervised random selection decides.
A priority area, then a straight line.
Burnham's catchment is a single area across south Buckinghamshire against the Slough and Berkshire boundary — broadly Burnham, Taplow, Egypt, Farnham Common, Farnham Royal, Hedgerley, Fulmer, Stoke Poges and Middle Green. It is the smallest of the county's grammar catchments. Living inside it gives your child priority in rule 8 above. It is not a hard boundary: a qualified child from outside catchment can still get a place under rule 9.
Where distance is used, the school measures a single straight line between your normal home address and the nearest school gate on Hogfair Lane, using the method adopted by Buckinghamshire Council. 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 children scored 121, both live in catchment, neither has a sibling at the school. Inside rule 8, House A's straight-line distance to the Hogfair Lane gate is shorter — so it ranks higher. If two addresses tie exactly, a supervised 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. It is re-ranked every time a child joins, using the same nine 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 child was refused because the school is full. Burnham Grammar School has contracted Buckinghamshire Council to manage appeals on its behalf; your refusal letter sets the deadline and grounds. A panel hearing won't normally re-examine whether your child was capable of qualifying — that belongs to the Selection Review.
Appealing does not affect your waiting-list position.
If you believe your child 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 child qualified, they are 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.
Burnham is co-educational, and so is the Sixth Form. Alongside students moving up from Year 11, the school admits around 40 external students into Year 12 each year, on a different application and a GCSE grade floor.
The grade floor.
A minimum of 46 points from your best eight GCSEs (numeric grades counted as points — a grade 9 is 9 points), including at least grade 5 in both English and Maths. Students taking four A-levels need 66 points. Individual A-level subjects also set their own minimum GCSE grade. 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. If the Sixth Form is oversubscribed, places go in order to looked-after children, then Pupil Premium applicants, siblings, staff children and exceptional medical or social need, with GCSE capped points as the tie-breaker.