Chesham Grammar School is one of Buckinghamshire’s most respected co-educational grammar schools, and competition for its Year 7 places is fierce. Ofsted judged it Outstanding in every area at its 2025 inspection, its GCSE and A-level results are among the strongest in the county, and it attracts applications from families across Chesham and the wider Chilterns. Passing the entrance test does not guarantee a place.
This guide explains what it takes to get into Chesham Grammar: how the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test works, what score to realistically aim for, why catchment and the White Hill distance tie-breaker matter so much, and how to prepare so your child walks into the exam confident. If you are planning ahead for the September 2027 intake, the key dates and decisions are set out below.
School overview
Chesham Grammar School is a selective, co-educational school for ages 11–18 on White Hill, Chesham (HP5 1BA). It is a member of The Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools (TBGS) and part of the Red Kite Schools Trust (URN 137091).
At its most recent graded inspection on 4 March 2025, Ofsted judged Chesham Grammar Outstanding in all five judgement areas. The detail matters here. Under Ofsted’s framework introduced in September 2024, inspectors no longer issue a single overall effectiveness grade, so there is no current “Outstanding overall” headline. The school was instead rated Outstanding across every individual area inspected. Its previous graded inspection, on 12 March 2014, was Outstanding overall.
The academic results bear this out. According to the Department for Education’s published 2024/25 performance data, Chesham Grammar recorded an Attainment 8 score of 74, with 96.7% of pupils achieving grade 5 or above in both English and maths, and an EBacc average point score of 7.25. Some 93.9% of pupils entered the full EBacc. (A Progress 8 measure was not calculated for 2024/25, so we do not report one here.)
The sixth form is strong too. In the 2025 A-level results, almost 60% of grades were A*/A and 85% were A*–B, results that open the door to leading universities.
The entrance exam: Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test
Entry to Chesham Grammar is by the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test (STT), the county-wide 11-plus administered by GL Assessment. Every child applying for a Year 7 place must sit it.
The STT consists of two papers of roughly 60 minutes each, covering:
- Verbal reasoning: working with words, language and logic
- Non-verbal reasoning: spotting patterns and relationships in shapes and diagrams
- Mathematics: number, arithmetic and problem solving
The papers are taken on separate testing days. Pupils at Buckinghamshire state primary schools are normally entered automatically; children at independent schools or schools outside the county must be registered by their parents.
Pass mark and realistic score targets
The qualifying score for the Buckinghamshire STT is 121. A child who reaches this standardised mark has qualified for a grammar school place.
The key point at Chesham Grammar is that qualifying is the start, not the finish. Because the school is heavily oversubscribed, scoring 121 does not secure a place on its own. When more qualified children apply than there are seats, the school’s admissions criteria, not the test score, decide who gets an offer. So while 121 is the threshold, we encourage families to aim well above it. A bigger margin protects against a difficult exam day and matches the real standard of the competition.
It also helps to understand that at Chesham Grammar, where you live matters a great deal. A high score from outside the catchment area is no substitute for living within it, as the next section explains.
Key dates for September 2027 entry
For children hoping to start at Chesham Grammar in September 2027, the timeline is:
- Registration opens: 10am, Friday 1 May 2026
- Registration deadline: 3pm, Tuesday 2 June 2026
- Test dates: Tuesday 8 and Thursday 10 September 2026
Miss the registration window and your child cannot sit the test for that cycle, so diarise it early.
The school also holds an Open Evening on Thursday 2 July 2026, with booking opening on 8 June 2026. It is well worth attending to get a feel for the school before you list your preferences. Check the school’s website for booking details and the latest event information.
Competition and catchment
Chesham Grammar’s determined admission policy for 2027/28 sets a Published Admission Number (PAN) of 186 for Year 7. (Note that Buckinghamshire Council lists 180 places for September 2026 entry, so the exact figure can vary slightly by year.) With far more qualified applicants than places, the school is a catchment-area grammar, and its oversubscription criteria are applied in a strict order.
Qualified children (those scoring 121 or above) are offered places in this priority order:
- Looked-after and previously looked-after children
- Up to 6 Pupil-Premium children from the catchment scoring 110–120
- Catchment Pupil-Premium children
- Siblings of children currently at the school
- Children of qualified members of staff
- Other children living in the catchment area
- Children with an exceptional medical or social need to attend this school specifically
The pattern is clear: after the priority categories, catchment children are offered places before children living outside the catchment. Where a tie-breaker is needed, the school measures the straight-line distance from your home to the White Hill main entrance, with closer homes prioritised.
Two practical lessons follow. Families inside the catchment have a real advantage, and those nearer the school have the edge in any tie-break. And because the cut-off can come down to metres in a heavily oversubscribed year, check your address against the school’s catchment before pinning your hopes on Chesham Grammar, and weigh it alongside other Buckinghamshire grammars when you list your preferences.
Preparation timeline and strategy
The children who do best are rarely the ones who cram in the final months. They are the ones who built reasoning skill steadily over time.
Start in Year 4. This is the best point to begin. It gives roughly eighteen months to develop verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and maths without pressure, and to turn unfamiliar question types into second nature well before the September test.
Treat the subjects separately. Verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths and English each demand different skills, so they deserve their own attention rather than a single generic “11-plus” approach. A child can be strong in maths yet thrown by non-verbal patterns; working on each strand on its own closes those gaps.
Use mocks under timed conditions. Full mock tests build exam stamina, surface weak areas and remove the shock of the clock. Pacing across two roughly 60-minute papers is a skill in itself, and only sitting realistic mocks teaches it.
At Think Smart Academy, our 11-plus classes are capped at 8 pupils so every child gets real attention rather than getting lost in a crowd. We start every family with a free diagnostic assessment to pinpoint where your child stands across all four areas, so preparation is targeted from day one. We teach from our High Wycombe centre and online, so families across Buckinghamshire, including those around Chesham and the Chilterns, can follow the same structured programme.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Treating 121 as the finish line. It is the qualifying mark, not a guaranteed offer. At an oversubscribed school like Chesham Grammar, aim higher.
- Ignoring catchment. A brilliant score from outside the catchment can still lose out to a qualified child who lives nearby. Know where you stand before you commit.
- Misreading the distance rule. The tie-breaker is straight-line distance to the White Hill main entrance, not road distance or postcode. Check it precisely.
- Leaving registration too late. Miss the 3pm deadline on 2 June 2026 for the 2027 cycle and there is no place to sit the test.
- Cramming late. Reasoning skill builds slowly. Starting in Year 6 leaves too little time to develop it properly.
- Neglecting the weakest subject. Most children have one area that drags the average down. Find it early and work on it directly.
Next step
Getting your child into Chesham Grammar School comes down to two things: a strong, confident test score and a clear understanding of the catchment and distance rules that decide who is offered a place.
We can help with the first and advise on the second. Read our full breakdown on the Chesham Grammar School page, then book a free consultation to claim your child’s diagnostic assessment and map out a preparation plan built around the September 2027 timeline.