Find the best secondary schools in Buckinghamshire. Compare Ofsted ratings, catchment areas, GCSE results and Progress 8.
Buckinghamshire has 37 secondary schools, all in Buckinghamshire council's area. Most state schools here offer places by distance from home once children in care and siblings of current pupils have been admitted, so how close you live decides your chances at any school with more applicants than places. Some councils draw a fixed catchment boundary instead, and the distance at which the last place went changes every year. Of the 37, 5 are faith schools that can put children of their faith first, and 13 select by ability through the 11-plus, so distance counts for less there.
Use the distance checker to measure your home's straight-line distance to any Buckinghamshire secondary school, and each school's page for its Ofsted report, results and admissions details. Check your distance to a school or try the admissions calculator.
| School | Type | Our rating |
|---|---|---|
| Aylesbury Grammar School | boys, selective, sixth form | 5.0 / 5 |
| Dr Challoner's High School | girls, selective, sixth form | 4.8 / 5 |
| Chesham Grammar School | selective, sixth form | 4.8 / 5 |
| Wycombe High School | girls, selective, sixth form | 4.8 / 5 |
| John Hampden Grammar School | boys, selective, sixth form | 4.8 / 5 |
| Aylesbury High School | girls, selective, sixth form | 4.7 / 5 |
| Burnham Grammar School | selective, sixth form | 4.7 / 5 |
| The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe |
There are 37 secondary schools in Buckinghamshire. Of those, 2 are all-through schools, teaching both primary and secondary years.
Apply by 31 October in your child's Year 6, for a place starting the following September. You apply to the council where you live, even if the school is in another council's area, and can usually list between 3 and 6 schools in order of preference. Offers are sent on 1 March, or the next working day.
Yes, 13 secondary schools in Buckinghamshire select pupils by ability: Aylesbury Grammar School, Wycombe High School, The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe, Dr Challoner's High School, John Hampden Grammar School, Sir William Borlase's Grammar School, Beaconsfield High School, Burnham Grammar School, Aylesbury High School, Dr Challoner's Grammar School, Chesham Grammar School, Royal Latin School and Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School. Entry is by the 11-plus, usually sat in September of Year 6. You register for the test separately, normally in the summer term of Year 5, and still name the school on your council application by 31 October.
| boys, selective, sixth form |
| 4.7 / 5 |
| Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School | selective, sixth form | 4.7 / 5 |
| Sir William Borlase's Grammar School | selective, sixth form | 4.7 / 5 |
| Dr Challoner's Grammar School | boys, selective, sixth form | 4.7 / 5 |
| Beaconsfield High School | girls, selective, sixth form | 4.6 / 5 |
| Royal Latin School | selective, sixth form | 4.4 / 5 |
| Waddesdon Church of England School | Church of England, sixth form | 4.3 / 5 |
| Pioneer Secondary Academy | Sikh, sixth form | 3.9 / 5 |
| The Kingsbrook School | sixth form | 3.9 / 5 |
| Cressex Community School | sixth form | 3.8 / 5 |
| Great Marlow School | sixth form | 3.6 / 5 |
| Amersham School | sixth form | 3.5 / 5 |
| The Misbourne School | sixth form | 3.5 / 5 |
| The Beaconsfield School | sixth form | 3.5 / 5 |
| The Grange School | sixth form | 3.5 / 5 |
| John Colet School | sixth form | 3.5 / 5 |
| Princes Risborough School | sixth form | 3.4 / 5 |
| The Cottesloe School | sixth form | 3.4 / 5 |
| St Michael's Catholic School | Roman Catholic, all-through, sixth form | 3.4 / 5 |
| Holmer Green Senior School | sixth form | 3.3 / 5 |
| Sir Thomas Fremantle School | Mixed | 3.1 / 5 |
| Buckingham School | sixth form | 3.1 / 5 |
| E-Act Bourne End Academy | sixth form | 3.1 / 5 |
| The Highcrest Academy | sixth form | 3.0 / 5 |
| The Aylesbury Vale Academy | Church of England, all-through, sixth form | 3.0 / 5 |
| The Chalfonts Community College | sixth form | 3.0 / 5 |
| The Mandeville School | sixth form | 2.7 / 5 |
| Chiltern Hills Academy | Church of England, sixth form | 2.5 / 5 |
| Sir William Ramsay School | sixth form | 2.1 / 5 |
| Aylesbury UTC | sixth form | 2.0 / 5 |
Our rating is out of 5 and combines Parent View survey results, the latest Ofsted inspection and published results. Source: Department for Education (GIAS) and Ofsted.
Of the 37 secondary schools in Buckinghamshire, 36 have a sixth form. Students at a school that stops at 16 apply separately for sixth form, either at another school or at a college.
Of the 37 secondary schools in Buckinghamshire, 5 have a religious character: 3 Church of England, 1 Roman Catholic and 1 Sikh. When a faith school has more applicants than places, it can give priority to children of its faith. Many ask for a supplementary form, sometimes signed by a religious leader, so read the school's admissions policy before you apply.
Yes, Buckinghamshire has 4 girls' schools and 4 boys' schools. The other 29 are mixed. Some single-sex schools take both boys and girls into the sixth form.
On our star rating, the highest rated are Aylesbury Grammar School (5.0), Dr Challoner's High School (4.8), Chesham Grammar School (4.8), Wycombe High School (4.8) and John Hampden Grammar School (4.8). The rating is our own, out of 5. It combines Parent View survey results, the latest Ofsted inspection and GCSE results, with the parent survey carrying the most weight. All 37 schools here have a rating.
Only when you qualify for more than one school. Each school ranks applicants against its own admission criteria without knowing where you placed it. If you qualify for several, the council offers the one you ranked highest, so putting a popular school first does not lower your chances at your second choice.
No. Distance only matters when a school has more applicants than places, and then it offers places in the order its admission criteria set out. Children in care or adopted from care come first by law. Most schools put brothers and sisters of current pupils next, then distance or catchment area. Faith schools and grammar schools use different criteria. How far away the last place went changes every year, depending on who applies.
The council offers a place at another school with room, which may be further from home. You can accept it and still join the waiting lists for the schools you preferred. Waiting lists are ranked by the admission criteria, not by how long a child has been on them. You can also appeal to an independent panel for any school that refused you.