Apply to John Hampden Grammar School, in plain English.
Everything a parent needs to know about a Year 7 place at John Hampden for September 2027 — the Bucks 11+, the score of 121 your son needs to qualify, how the school's two-tier Priority Area and straight-line distance decide who gets in when it's full, and what to do if he misses out. Last year around 715 boys chased 180 places, so register for the test by the June 2026 deadline.
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+.
John Hampden only admits boys who score at least 121 on the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test — two papers covering verbal, non-verbal and maths reasoning, both 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 John Hampden as a preference with your home council by 31 October 2026 — even if you live outside Buckinghamshire.
Priority Area, then distance, decide.
If more boys qualify than there are places, the school looks at its two-tier Priority Area — Priority Area A first (High Wycombe, Marlow, Beaconsfield, Gerrards Cross and Stokenchurch), then Priority Area B (Maidenhead and Cookham) — and ranks within each by straight-line distance. A qualified boy from outside the Priority Area can still get a place once those rules are exhausted.
Four 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.
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 rules in order. Tap any rule to see the document's exact wording.
In plain English: Boys in the care of a council, or who were in care before being adopted, get top priority. This also covers boys adopted from state care outside England.
What the document says: "A 'looked after boy' is one who is in the care of a local authority or being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions. A 'previously looked after boy' is one who was looked after in England, but ceased to be so because they were adopted, or became subject to a child arrangements or special guardianship order," including boys who were in state care outside England before being adopted.
In plain English: Up to twelve places are held for in-catchment boys who get the Pupil Premium (or Service Premium, or who are looked-after) and score 113–120 — just below the usual 121 mark. If they aren't all filled, the spare places roll into the main pool. Pupil Premium covers boys eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years; Service Premium covers armed-forces families.
What the document says: "12 Boys who are Looked After or Previously Looked After (LAC/PLAC/IALAC) … or eligible for Pupil Premium (P.P.) or Service Premium (S.P.) who have scored a mark of 113-120 in the Admissions Test and who reside in the Catchment Area."
In plain English: Qualified boys (121+) who get the Pupil Premium or Service Premium and live inside the catchment come next, ahead of the sibling and Priority Area rules.
What the document says: "Other boys eligible for P.P. or for S.P. who have achieved the qualifying mark of 121 or more in the Admissions Test and who reside in the Catchment Area."
In plain English: If your son will have a brother on roll at John Hampden (in Years 7–12) when he starts, and you live in the catchment, he gets priority here.
What the document says: "Brothers of siblings in Years 7-12 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 and reside in the JHGS catchment area."
In plain English: John Hampden is paired with Wycombe High School, the girls' grammar in High Wycombe. If your son will have a sister on roll there when he starts, and you live in the John Hampden catchment, he gets sibling priority here too.
What the document says: "Boys with a sibling (sister) who is on the roll of Wycombe High School at the time allocations are made and who will be on the roll of Wycombe High School at the date of the applicant entry to Year 7 in September and who reside in the John Hampden Grammar School catchment area."
In plain English: A qualified boy whose parent has worked at the school on a permanent contract for at least two years, or was hired into a hard-to-fill role.
What the document says: "Sons of staff who are employed on a permanent contract by the School where the member of staff has been employed at the School for two or more years at the time the application for admission is made, or the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skills shortage."
In plain English: All other qualified boys who live in Priority Area A — the inner area covering High Wycombe (with Hazlemere, Bourne End, Flackwell Heath and West Wycombe), Marlow, Beaconsfield, Gerrards Cross and Stokenchurch — ranked by straight-line distance, closest first.
What the document says: "Boys living in the Priority Area A of the School." Priority within the criterion is conferred in distance order using the County Scheme methodology, those living closest given priority.
In plain English: Qualified boys who live in Priority Area B — the outer area covering Maidenhead and Cookham, where boys also have a choice of more than two grammars within reasonable distance — ranked after every Priority Area A applicant, again by straight-line distance.
What the document says: "Boys living in the Priority Area B of the School." Priority within the criterion is conferred in distance order, those living closest given priority.
In plain English: A qualified boy with an exceptional medical or social need that only John Hampden can meet. You must supply written evidence (for example from a doctor or social worker) explaining why this school in particular.
What the document says: "Boys who have exceptional medical or social needs which can only be met at the School supported by evidence as set out in the County Scheme."
In plain English: Any remaining qualified boy, wherever he lives, ranked by straight-line distance. This is how an out-of-catchment boy who scored 121 can still win a place.
What the document says: "All other boys will be offered in distance order using the methodology set out in the County Scheme where those living closest to the School will be given priority." Where two boys cannot be separated even by distance, places are allocated by an independently-supervised draw of lots.
Two priority areas, then a straight line.
John Hampden has a published two-tier Priority Area. Priority Area A is the inner area — High Wycombe (including Hazlemere, Bourne End, Flackwell Heath and West Wycombe), Marlow, Beaconsfield, Gerrards Cross and Stokenchurch. Priority Area B is the outer area — Maidenhead and Cookham, where boys also have a choice of more than two grammars within reasonable distance. In the catchment rules, Area A (rule 7) is ranked ahead of Area B (rule 8), and within each area boys are ordered by straight-line distance. It is not a hard boundary: a qualified boy from outside the Priority Area 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 School, as the crow flies, using the method applied by Buckinghamshire Council. Routes, bus times and travel difficulty are not considered. You must be living at the home address by 1 September 2026. You can check which Priority Area an address falls into on the Bucks catchment checkerBuckinghamshire catchment checkerThe council's online tool that shows which grammar-school catchment and priority areas a postcode falls into..
See the Priority Area on the GrammarBound mapHow two addresses get ranked.
Both boys scored 121, neither gets the Pupil Premium and neither has a brother at the school. House A sits in Priority Area A; House B sits in Priority Area B. Because rule 7 (Area A) is applied before rule 8 (Area B), House A is offered first, even though House B also qualified. Within each area, the closer straight-line distance wins.
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., the waiting list is run using the oversubscription rules — not the date a boy joined it — and is maintained until 31 December 2027. It is re-ranked every time a child joins, so a later applicant in a higher rule can move above you. There is no simple "queue".
In-year vacancies from 1 January 2028 are handled under the school's In-Year Procedure (a shared grammar-school test for Years 7–9; curriculum tests in English, Maths and Science for Years 10–11).
Appeal
Once places are allocated, you can appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel if your son was refused because the school is full. John Hampden contracts 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 son was capable of qualifying — that belongs to the Selection Review (see below).
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 him qualified, he is eligible for any of the Bucks grammars. Boys with an EHCP naming the school are admitted under separate statutory rules.
A separate route in at 16.
Year 7 entry is by the 11+, but the Sixth Form reserves 30 external places each year, on a different application and its own entry requirement.
The grade floor.
A minimum of 48 points from your best eight full-course GCSEs (where grade 9 = 9 points, grade 8 = 8, and so on), including at least grade 5 in both English Language and Maths — this is the floor for three A-levels. Bigger programmes need more: 50 points for three A-levels plus an EPQ, 54 for three A-levels plus an AS, and 64 for four A-levels. Each course also has its own subject entry grade, published in the Sixth Form prospectus each autumn.
Apply direct to the school.
Internal students who meet the requirement have priority; 30 external places (the Year 12 PAN) are reserved for boys who qualify. If qualified external applicants outnumber places, the school admits looked-after boys, then qualified sons of staff, then ranks the rest on highest point score across their best 8 GCSEs, with exceptional medical or social needs considered alongside.