John Hampden Grammar School, High Wycombe

From the headteacher's welcome: "John Hampden Grammar School is remarkable. We seek to give our young men the personal qualities as well as the qualifications to carve out their own bold paths into the future. As you would expect, a challenging academic education is at the heart of what we do. John Hampden is an outstanding school with exceptional academic success."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include rugby and Duke of Edinburgh.

On phones, the school says: "'See it, hear it, take it.' The policy for all types of mobile phones prior to September 2026 was that Years 7-11 could bring them to school but they must NOT be used when on the school site."

Coming up: an open evening on Thursday 12 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at John Hampden Grammar School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 73.1, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 55 in Buckinghamshire and 47 across England.

96% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 61% in Buckinghamshire and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 72.3.

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 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Biology, Physics and Chemistry.

John Hampden 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, 259 families put John Hampden Grammar School as their first choice and 865 named it as one of their preferences, for 184 places offered. That is 1.4 first choices for every place. 98 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

John Hampden 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, John Hampden 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 John Hampden Grammar School are Wycombe High School (0.2 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 74.2); St Michael's Catholic School (0.4 miles, Attainment 8 48.7); Cressex Community School (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 44.3); and The Highcrest Academy (1.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 42).

John Hampden Grammar School's 2026 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.

Of the 182 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 95% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 1% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 159 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 75% went on to university or other higher education, 3% to apprenticeships and 13% into work. 46% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

5.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 13 pupils (1%) received SEN support and 13 (1%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is High Wycombe Rail Station, about 1.2 miles away in a straight line.

16 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Whincup Close (opposite), 110 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 211 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Buckinghamshire (44), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, John Hampden Grammar School issued 17 suspensions, 1.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to John Hampden Grammar School are Chepping View Primary Academy (0.5 miles), High Wycombe Church of England Combined School (0.8 miles), Abbey View Primary Academy (0.8 miles) and Oakridge School (0.9 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.