Apply to Chesham Grammar School, in plain English.
Everything a parent needs to know about a Year 7 place at Chesham Grammar School, a co-educational grammar in Chesham, for September 2027 — the Bucks 11+, the score of 121 your child needs to qualify, the Chesham 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+.
Chesham Grammar 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 Chesham Grammar 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 catchment area (it covers Chesham, Amersham, the Chalfonts, Great Missenden, Prestwood and Gerrards Cross) and then straight-line distance to its main entrance on White Hill. 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 8 rules decide.
Every child who scores 121 or more is eligible. If more children qualify than there are places, the school works down these eight 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 living in the catchment who are eligible for the Pupil Premium and scored 110–120 — just below the usual 121 threshold — and who did not qualify through a Selection Review. Looked-after children in this group come first, then distance decides.
What the document says: "Up to 6 places in Year 7 will be available to children living in the catchment area of the school … who qualify for and are in receipt of Pupil Premium at the time of application, whose standardised score in the Secondary Transfer Test is between 110 and 120 inclusive … and who have not been deemed to have qualified following a selection review or have not applied for selection review." Pupil Premium entitlement must show in the most recent school census before entry.
In plain English: Qualified children who attract the Pupil Premium grant and live inside the catchment come next.
What the document says: "Children 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 qualify for Pupil Premium as at the time of application." Entitlement must be shown in the most recent school census before entry.
In plain English: If your child will have a brother or sister in Years 7–12 at Chesham Grammar when they start, and who is still on roll, they get priority here.
What the document says: "Siblings of children in Years 7 to 12 who are on the roll of the school at the time allocations are made and who will be on the roll of the school at the time of the proposed admission." A sibling shares one or more parent, or permanently lives at the same home address as part of the same family unit.
In plain English: A qualified child whose parent has worked at Chesham Grammar for at least two years, or was recruited into a hard-to-fill role.
What the document says: "Qualified children of CGS 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." This does not include staff who work on the school site for other employers.
In plain English: All other qualified children who live inside the Chesham 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 1 September of the year preceding entry to Year 7." The catchment area is illustrated on a map published on the school's website and on Buckinghamshire Council's catchment-area checker.
In plain English: A qualified child whose particular medical or social needs can only be met at Chesham Grammar, 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 this school supported by evidence from an independent professional person." The evidence must show why this school, and no other, can meet the need.
In plain English: Any remaining qualified child, wherever they live, ranked by straight-line distance to the school's main entrance on White Hill. This is how an out-of-catchment child who scored 121 can still win a place.
What the document says: "Once the above rules have been applied, then any further places will be offered in distance order using straight line distance between the family's normal home address and the main entrance to the school on White Hill." If two children live exactly the same distance away, a random draw supervised by an independent person decides.
A priority area, then a straight line.
Chesham Grammar's catchment is a single area across the south-east Chilterns — broadly Chesham, Amersham, Little Chalfont, Chalfont St Giles, Chalfont St Peter, Great Missenden, Prestwood and Gerrards Cross. Living inside it gives your child priority in rule 6 above. It is not a hard boundary: a qualified child from outside catchment can still get a place under rule 8.
Where distance is used, the school measures a single straight line between your normal home address and the main entrance on White Hill, 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 children scored 121, both live in catchment, neither has a sibling at the school. Inside rule 6, House A's straight-line distance to the White Hill 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. It is re-ranked every time a child joins, using the same eight 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. 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 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.
Year 7 is co-educational, and so is the Sixth Form. Alongside students moving up from Year 11, the school admits at least 30 external students into Year 12 each year, on a different application and a GCSE grade floor.
The grade floor.
A minimum of 48 points from your best eight GCSEs (at least six of them GCSEs), or 56 points if you take a fourth A-level, with at least grade 5 in both English Language and Maths. Most A-level subjects also ask for at least grade 6 in the related GCSE — some need grade 7, and Further Maths needs grade 8. 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 4 December 2026 for September 2027 entry. If the Sixth Form is oversubscribed, the same priority order as Year 7 applies — looked-after, catchment Pupil Premium, sibling, staff, catchment, exceptional medical or social need, then distance.