Apply to the Royal Latin School, in plain English.
Everything a parent needs to know about a Year 7 place at the Royal Latin School, a co-educational grammar in Buckingham, for September 2027 — the Bucks 11+, the score of 121 your child needs to qualify, the North 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+.
The Royal Latin 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 the Royal Latin 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 North Buckinghamshire catchment area (it covers Buckingham, Winslow, Steeple Claydon, Marsh Gibbon and the surrounding villages) and then straight-line distance to its entrance on Chandos Road. 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: "Children in care: looked after (CLA) and previously looked after children (CPLA)." 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: Qualified children who attract the Pupil Premium grant and live inside the catchment come next. (Pupil Premium here includes the Service Premium for armed-forces families.)
What the document says: "Pupil Premium (catchment): Children living in the catchment area of the school who qualify for Pupil Premium at the application deadline." A footnote confirms this includes both children eligible for the pupil premium and children eligible for the service premium. Evidence of entitlement must reach the school office by 31 October.
In plain English: Up to twelve 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 distance decides.
What the document says: "Up to 12 places may be offered to children whose standardised score in the Secondary Transfer Test is 115 to 120 inclusive and who have not been deemed qualified … These places are available only to: looked after (CLA) or previously looked after children (CPLA) (living anywhere), or children living in catchment (continuously from 1st September of the year preceding entry) who are eligible for Pupil Premium at the application deadline."
In plain English: A qualified child whose parent has worked at the Royal Latin School for at least two years, or was recruited into a hard-to-fill role.
What the document says: "Children of Royal Latin School staff where (i) the member of staff has been employed on a permanent contract … for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission is made, and/or (ii) the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage."
In plain English: All other qualified children who live inside the North Bucks catchment area come next, ranked among themselves by distance. You must have lived at the address continuously since 1 September of the year you receive an offer.
What the document says: "Children living in the catchment area of the school who must have been resident at their home address continuously since 1st September in the offer year." 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: If your child will have a brother or sister on roll at the Royal Latin School when they start, they get priority here.
What the document says: "Siblings of children who will be on the roll of the Royal Latin School at the date of the candidate's proposed admission." 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: A qualified child whose particular medical or social needs can only be met at the Royal Latin School, and nowhere else — you'll need written professional evidence.
What the document says: "Exceptional medical or social needs (e.g. registered young carers) which can be met only at this school, supported by written evidence from a doctor, social worker, educational welfare officer or other appropriate 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 nearest entrance on Chandos Road. This is how an out-of-catchment child who scored 121 can still win a place.
What the document says: "Distance order: Once the above rules have been applied, any further places will be offered in distance order, using the straight-line distance between the family's normal home address (from the front door) and the school's nearest entrance gate." If two children live exactly the same distance away, a random allocation, independently verified, decides.
A priority area, then a straight line.
The Royal Latin's catchment is a single area across North Buckinghamshire around Buckingham — broadly Buckingham, Winslow, Steeple Claydon, Marsh Gibbon, Padbury, Maids Moreton, Gawcott, Tingewick, Akeley and Stowe. Living inside it gives your child priority in rule 5 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 (from the front door) and the nearest entrance gate on Chandos 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 you receive an offer. 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 5, House A's straight-line distance to the Chandos 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. 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 a limited number of 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 full-course GCSEs (numeric grades counted as points — a grade 9 is 9 points), with at least grade 6 in both English and Maths. Individual A-level subjects also set their own minimum GCSE grade, listed in the Sixth Form prospectus. 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 23 March 2027 for September 2027 entry. If the Sixth Form is oversubscribed, places go in order to looked-after children, then up to twelve Pupil Premium applicants within 15 miles (ranked by GCSE points), staff children, exceptional medical or social need, and finally academic rank by GCSE points.