Apply to Sir Henry Floyd Grammar, in plain English.
Everything a parent needs to know about a Year 7 place at Sir Henry Floyd, Aylesbury, for September 2026 — the Bucks 11+, the score of 121 your child needs to qualify, the Aylesbury 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+.
Sir Henry Floyd 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 Sir Henry Floyd as a preference with your home council by 31 October 2025 — even if you live outside Buckinghamshire.
Catchment, then distance, decide.
If more children qualify than there are places, the school looks at the Aylesbury catchment area (it covers Aylesbury, Wendover, Princes Risborough, Haddenham, Wing, Waddesdon and more) and then straight-line distance to the nearest of its three main entrances. 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 2026 entry round, the current published cycle.)
Qualify on the 11+ first — then these 6 rules decide.
Every child who scores 121 or more is eligible. If more children qualify than there are places, the school works down these six rules in order. Tap any rule to see the document's exact wording.
In plain English: Children in the care of a council (or who were before being adopted), and children who qualify for Free School Meals, share the top priority. You'll need to send evidence of Free School Meals eligibility to the school.
What the document says: "Looked After Children and Previously Looked After Children and students who qualify for Free School Meals (on Census day autumn 2025)." A looked-after child is one in the care of, or housed by, a local authority under the Children Act 1989; previously looked-after covers children adopted from care or subject to a child arrangements or special guardianship order, including those who were in state care outside England.
In plain English: Children who attract the Pupil Premium grant come next. There is also a separate reserved allocation of up to six places above the 180 for in-catchment Pupil Premium / Free School Meals children scoring 110–120 — see "How distance works" below.
What the document says: "Students who qualify for Pupil Premium grant (on Census day autumn 2025)." Up to six places above the Published Admission Number are available to students eligible for Free School Meals or the Pupil Premium Grant, resident in the catchment, who achieved a standardised score of at least 110 but below 121, ranked by distance.
In plain English: If your child will have a brother or sister at Sir Henry Floyd when they start, and who is still on roll, they get priority here.
What the document says: "For the main point of admission, siblings of students at the school who are on roll and will be on roll at the time of the proposed admission." A sibling shares one or more parent, or permanently lives at the same address.
In plain English: A qualified child whose parent has worked at the school for at least two years, or was recruited into a hard-to-fill role.
What the document says: "Children of Insignis Academy Trust staff, who have been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made, and/or the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage, as per national shortage occupation lists."
In plain English: All other qualified children who live inside the Aylesbury 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: "Students 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." The catchment area is published in Appendix 1 of the admissions policy and on the school website.
In plain English: Any remaining qualified child, wherever they live, ranked by straight-line distance to the nearest of the school's three main entrances. 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 … the straight-line distance between the family's normal home address and the nearest of the school's three main entrances, using the Local Authority's measurements." If two children live at exactly the same distance, a random draw is made.
A priority area, then a straight line.
Sir Henry Floyd shares the Aylesbury catchment area with Aylesbury Grammar School and Aylesbury High School — broadly Aylesbury, Wendover, Princes Risborough, Haddenham, Stoke Mandeville, Wing, Waddesdon, Quainton and Cheddington. 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 6.
Where distance is used, the school measures a single straight line between your normal home address and the nearest of its three main entrances on Oxford Road, using the council's 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 5, House A's straight-line distance to the nearest Oxford 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. to 31 December, 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 six rules — so a later applicant in a higher rule can move above you. There is no simple "queue".
From 1 January, in-year vacancies are handled under the school's Late Transfer Procedure (curriculum tests set by the school).
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 takes a minimum of 34 external students into Year 12 each year, on a different application and a GCSE grade floor.
The grade floor.
A minimum standard across your best eight GCSE subjects, including at least grade 5 in both Maths and English Language. On top of that, some A-level subjects set their own specific entry requirement, published in the Sixth Form Options Booklet each autumn.
Apply direct to the school.
External applicants apply through the school's own online application system (linked from the school website). Entry requirements are the same for internal and external students. The closing date is announced in the prospectus and on the website in the spring term before entry. If a candidate has not completed eight GCSE courses, an admissions panel including the Head of School considers the application.