Chesham Grammar School, Chesham

From the headteacher's welcome: "Welcome to Chesham Grammar School! Ours is a vibrant school community, one of which we are very proud. It is characterised by a supportive and caring environment and relationships between staff and students are exceptionally warm."

Coming up: an admissions event on Monday 2 November 2026, an open evening on Thursday 17 December 2026 and an open evening on Monday 4 January 2027. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Chesham Grammar School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 75.6, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 55 in Buckinghamshire and 47 across England.

98% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 61% in Buckinghamshire and 47% in England.

That is up from 74 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.84: pupils made well above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 21 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Biology, Physics and Chemistry.

Chesham Grammar School is a grammar school: places go to children who reach the required standard in its entrance test, and only then are the oversubscription criteria applied.

For September 2026 entry, 309 families put Chesham Grammar School as their first choice and 1080 named it as one of their preferences, for 183 places offered. That is 1.7 first choices for every place. 133 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

Chesham Grammar School admits pupils through an entrance test - in Buckinghamshire, the Secondary Transfer Test. Children have to be registered for it in advance, normally in the spring or summer of Year 5; the test itself is usually sat in September of Year 6, and results come out in October, before the 31 October deadline for naming secondary schools.

Passing the test makes a child eligible rather than guaranteeing a place: when more children pass than there are places, Chesham Grammar School ranks them by the criteria in its admissions policy, which can include test score and distance. Check Buckinghamshire's admissions pages and the school's own policy for this year's registration deadline - a child who is not registered in time cannot sit the test.

Buckinghamshire has 13 state grammar schools in all, so a child who passes may have several selective schools to choose between.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Chesham Grammar School are Chiltern Hills Academy (1 mile, Good, Attainment 8 40.9); Dr Challoner's Grammar School (2.3 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 76.2); Amersham School (2.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 52.4); and Dr Challoner's High School (3.2 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 76.2).

Chesham Grammar School's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 4 schools.

Chesham Grammar School is run by its own single-school academy trust.

477 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Chesham Grammar School (as of September 2025): 97% would recommend the school, 97% say their child is happy there and 78% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (99%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (78%).

Of the 181 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 98% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 4% to a further education college and 1% into work.

Of the 189 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 71% went on to university or other higher education, 3% to apprenticeships and 18% into work. 54% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

2.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 12% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (62%), Asian (19%) and Mixed (8%).

In 2026, 39 pupils (2.9%) received SEN support and 10 (0.8%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is autism.

The nearest Underground station is Chesham Underground Station, about 850 metres away (roughly a 11-minute walk).

9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Grammar School (outside), 50 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Chesham Grammar School stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 115 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and criminal damage and arson. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Buckinghamshire (44), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Chesham Grammar School issued 23 suspensions, 1.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Chesham Grammar School are Newtown School (0.5 miles), Brushwood Junior School (0.5 miles), Elmtree Infant and Nursery School (0.8 miles) and Thomas Harding Junior School (0.8 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.