Apply to Herschel Grammar School, in plain English.
Herschel is a super-selective, co-educational grammar in Cippenham, Slough that admits on the Slough Consortium 11+ — you must register for the test separately from your council application, and the deadline is 5 June 2026. Unlike the other Slough grammars, Herschel has a real catchment: after children in care, priority goes to qualifying children living within 4 miles of the school. Around 1,170 children chase the 150 places, so a qualifying score does not guarantee an offer.
The three things to know first.
If you read nothing else on this page, read these.
You sit one test — the Slough Consortium 11+ — and you must register by 5 June 2026.
Herschel is one of four schools in the Slough Consortium of Grammar Schools. Children sit a single GL Assessment 11+ in autumn 2026; the same result is shared with all four schools. You register through the Consortium, separately from your council's application — the window runs across May and June 2026 and closes on 5 June, and late entries are not accepted. A standardised score of 111 or above makes a child eligible for consideration.
Herschel has a real 4-mile catchment — and it matters more than your score.
This is the big difference from the other Slough grammars. Once a child has qualified, the first places (after children in care) go to those living within 4 miles of the school, nearest first — measured in a straight line. Only after the catchment, Pupil Premium and staff groups are settled do the remaining places fill by test rank. So a qualifying child who lives close has a strong advantage.
Up to 10 extra places are reserved for Pupil Premium children within 10 miles.
After the catchment group, up to 10 places go to qualifying children who are eligible for the Pupil PremiumPupil Premium (PP)Children eligible for free school meals at the closing date for the Common Application Form, or at any time since 1 September 2019. and live within 10 miles. Then come children of staff, and finally the remaining places up to the PAN of 150 by test rank. Claim Pupil Premium on the council form so the school can check it.
Five steps — starting now.
If more qualifying children apply than there are places, these criteria decide.
First, any child whose EHC plan names the school is admitted. Then, among children scoring 111+, places are allocated in the order below. Within every criterion, ties are settled by straight-line distance to the school. Tap any criterion to see the exact wording.
In plain English: A child currently in council care, or who left care through adoption or a guardianship order, gets first priority — provided they reached the qualifying score. In practice this is a small group.
What the document says: Looked after Children who are being accommodated, or who have been taken into care by a local authority under section 20, 31 or 38 of the Children Act 1989, including children who were previously looked after.
In plain English: Qualifying children whose home is within 4 miles of the school, in a straight line, come next — and within this group the nearest children are offered first. This is the criterion that fills most of the places, so for the majority of families distance matters more than the exact test score.
What the document says: Pupils living within the school catchment area, which is defined as a home address within 4 miles of the school. Distance will be measured in a straight line from the front door of the child's home address (including flats) to the main entrance gate of the school, using a Geographical Information System (GIS), with those closest to the school receiving the higher priority.
In plain English: Up to 10 further places go to qualifying children eligible for the Pupil Premium who live within 10 miles of the school — wider than the 4-mile catchment. Pupil Premium means eligible for free school meals at the application deadline, or at any time since 1 September 2019. Within the group, the nearest children come first.
What the document says: Up to a further 10 places will be offered to eligible applicants with a home address within 10 miles of the school who are eligible for the Pupil Premium at the closing date for submission of the Common Application Form.
In plain English: Children of permanent staff who have worked at the school for at least two years before the application deadline come next — again, only if they reached the qualifying score.
What the document says: Children of permanent members of the school staff who have been continuously employed by the school for a period of not less than 2 years before the closing date for applications.
In plain English: Any places still left after the groups above, up to the PAN of 150, go to the highest-scoring qualifying children in rank order, wherever they live. Where two children share the same score, the one living closer is offered first. This is the route by which a strong scorer outside the catchment can still win a place.
What the document says: The remaining places, up to the PAN of 150, will be allocated to pupils in rank order of performance in the examination. Where multiple applicants achieve the same score, each score will be ranked in order of proximity to the school, with those living closest receiving higher priority.
Tie-breaks: Within criteria 2, 3 and 5, the closer child wins. If two children are exactly equal in distance for the final place, it is decided by independently supervised random allocation.
A real 4-mile catchment — and most places go to children inside it.
Herschel's catchment is a home address within 4 miles of the school, measured in a straight line. After children in care, qualifying children inside this circle are offered places first, nearest to the school first — so for most families the catchment decides the outcome more than the test score does. The score sets the bar (you must reach 111 to be eligible); the catchment then sorts who gets in.
The 4-mile radius is a genuine priority area, not a hard wall: once the catchment, Pupil Premium and staff groups are filled, any remaining places go to the highest scorers from anywhere. Distance is measured 'as the crow flies' from your home's front door to the school's main entrance gate using a GIS — not by walking or driving route. The circle on our map is the published 4-mile radius.
See Herschel's catchment on the GrammarBound mapInside the catchment wins; outside needs a top score.
Child A only just qualified but lives inside the 4-mile catchment, so is offered a place under criterion 2 ahead of the score-ranked group. Child B scored much higher but lives outside the catchment, so must wait for one of the remaining rank-order places — which only appear if the catchment does not fill them first. Being inside the catchment is the surest route; a very high score is the way in from outside.
You have two routes, and you can use both.
Waiting list
Qualifying children who were not offered a place are placed on a waiting list, ranked by the same oversubscription criteria and re-ordered each time a name is added or removed. It runs to 31 December 2027; a new applicant can join after sitting the 11+, provided they reach the qualifying score of 111.
Request a waiting-list place via Herschel directly.
Appeal
You have the right to appeal to an independent panel, which follows the statutory School Admissions Code. Appealing does not remove your child from the waiting list — you can do both.
Joining Year 12 from outside.
Herschel has a Year 12 admission number of 160 and reserves at least 10 places for external students, with more depending on how many of its own Year 11s stay on.
The grade floor.
Entry is by GCSE results. A "pass" means a grade 5 or higher, and you need grade 5+ in both GCSE English Language and Maths, alongside a minimum average GCSE points score across your subjects. Some A-levels — languages, sciences and maths in particular — ask for a grade 6 in the related GCSE. Full subject-by-subject requirements are published each year in the Sixth Form Course Information Booklet.
Apply direct to the school.
External applicants apply directly to Herschel from November of the year before entry, accept the conditional offer, and confirm their place on GCSE results day once grades are met. If external applicants exceed the number of places, priority goes to looked-after children, then by GCSE average points score in the subjects with spaces. Students must come straight from Year 11 — no repeating Year 12.