Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact John Hampden Grammar School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact John Hampden Grammar School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
If you have a bright boy who wants to be stretched but would wilt in a high-pressure hothouse, John Hampden Grammar School is worth a look. It sits on Marlow Hill, close to the centre of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, and teaches around 1,260 boys aged 11 to 18. The Good Schools Guide calls it a purposeful place where pupils can be themselves and achieve personal bests in a focused but supportive and friendly environment. The school started life in the early 1890s as an art and technical school for the children of the town's craftsmen, and a practical, get-stuck-in spirit still runs through it.
What the Good Schools Guide picks out is the tone. The school, it says, is not overly macho, and celebrates boys for everything from sport to debating. There is plenty to do beyond lessons, with more than 100 clubs and activities and strong take-up among the youngest boys. Sport is open rather than elite, and nearly half of all Year 7 boys play in fixtures, with regular regional wins in football, athletics and swimming. If a worried parent's first question is whether their son will be looked after, the pastoral side is well staffed, with a welfare officer, two counsellors and a school nurse on hand.
This is a school that suits a boy who wants a real academic challenge but in a friendly setting rather than a pressured one, and who will make the most of everything on offer outside the classroom. It is led by headteacher Tracey Hartley, who became head in 2016 as the first woman to lead the school. The picture parents tend to take away is a straightforward one: a son who is pushed where it counts and still comes home happy.
Yes
Does John Hampden Grammar School have a catchment area?
Yes. The school uses two geographic priority areas (Priority Area A covering High Wycombe and surrounding towns, and Priority Area B covering parts of south Buckinghamshire and nearby Berkshire); qualifying boys in Priority Area A are considered ahead of those in Priority Area B.
John Hampden Grammar School uses the GL exam board for its 11+ entrance exam.
No, there is no interview stage as part of the John Hampden Grammar School 11+ admissions process.
John Hampden Grammar School is a single-sex school for boys.
Yes, the school uses two geographic priority areas. Qualifying boys in Priority Area A are considered ahead of those in Priority Area B.
The official website for John Hampden Grammar School is https://www.jhgs.bucks.sch.uk/.
Your son first needs to reach the required standard in the Buckinghamshire 11+ (the Secondary Transfer Test). Places are then offered in priority order: looked-after and previously looked-after boys first, then a set of ring-fenced places for Pupil Premium or Service Premium boys in catchment, then siblings, then sons of staff, then boys in catchment Priority Area A, then Area B, then those with exceptional medical or social needs, then by how close your home is to the school. A boy with an EHCP naming the school is admitted first. There's no fixed pass mark; it depends on demand each year.
The Secondary Transfer Test is run by Buckinghamshire Council, the test administrator for all the Buckinghamshire grammar schools, not by John Hampden itself. The school's own policy doesn't set out a separate procedure for a boy who falls ill on the test day. So if that happens, contact the school's admissions office and Buckinghamshire Council as early as you can. The council also runs a Selection Review for boys who didn't reach the score but had a good reason, such as illness.
