180 places, qualifying score 121, test date 10 September 2026 — everything parents need to know
Book a Free ConsultationDr Challoner's Grammar School is a selective academy for boys aged 11 to 18, located on Chesham Road in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. Founded in 1624, it is one of England's oldest grammar schools, with a current roll of approximately 1,300 pupils and a co-educational sixth form of around 500 students. The school admits 180 boys into Year 7 each year via the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test (STT), administered by GL Assessment on behalf of The Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools (TBGS) consortium. Dr Challoner's was rated Outstanding in its most recent Ofsted inspection and is consistently ranked among the top-performing state schools in England for GCSE outcomes. Entry is highly competitive: boys must achieve the qualifying standard on the STT and, where the school is oversubscribed, meet the catchment area and admissions criteria. This guide covers everything parents of current Year 5 boys need to know about 11+ entry for 2026 — the precise test format, 2026 key dates, catchment area, admissions criteria, and how to structure preparation properly.
The Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test (STT) is the shared entrance examination used by all 13 grammar schools in Buckinghamshire, including Dr Challoner's Grammar School. Administered by TBGS using GL Assessment materials, the test is sat in September of Year 6 at designated test centres across the county. All children registered for any Buckinghamshire grammar school sit exactly the same test on the same day — there is no school-specific entrance exam for Dr Challoner's. A child's standardised score from the STT is used as the basis for applications to all 13 schools; the same score applies to every school the family lists as a preference on their application form.
The test consists of two papers, each lasting approximately 45 minutes, presented entirely in multiple-choice format. An age-standardisation process adjusts every child's raw score for their date of birth before the final standardised score is calculated. This ensures that summer-born boys are not disadvantaged relative to September-born peers.
The weighting across the two papers is: 50% verbal ability, 25% numerical ability, and 25% non-verbal reasoning. This weighting has direct implications for how boys should allocate their preparation time — verbal work should receive at least half of a structured preparation programme's total time.
Paper 1 covers verbal skills with three components: English comprehension (reading an unseen passage and answering multiple-choice questions), technical English (grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure questions), and verbal reasoning (word codes, analogies, letter sequences, and other language-based pattern questions). Paper 2 covers non-verbal skills: mathematics (Key Stage 2 curriculum topics with an emphasis on problem-solving) and non-verbal reasoning (shapes, spatial patterns, matrices, and abstract sequences).
Results are returned as standardised scores. Children who reach the qualifying standard — typically a score of 121 — are deemed grammar school-able and may list any Buckinghamshire grammar school as a preference on their Common Application Form.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Entry year | Year 7 (September 2027 for boys currently in Year 5) |
| Year 7 places | 180 |
| Test | Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test (STT), GL Assessment |
| Test format | 2 papers × approx. 45 minutes, multiple-choice, age-standardised |
| Paper 1 | Comprehension, technical English, verbal reasoning (50% of total) |
| Paper 2 | Mathematics and non-verbal reasoning (50% of total) |
| Typical qualifying score | 121 (standardised; may vary slightly year to year) |
| Practice test date 2026 | Tuesday 8 September 2026 |
| Main test date 2026 | Thursday 10 September 2026 |
| Results | Thursday 9 October 2026 |
| Application deadline (CAF) | Saturday 31 October 2026 |
| School type | Boys' selective academy (co-educational sixth form) |
| Ofsted | Outstanding |
| Founded | 1624 (academy since 2011) |
Dr Challoner's Grammar School is one of the most sought-after grammar schools in Buckinghamshire. Approximately 9,500 children sit the Buckinghamshire STT each year, competing for around 1,900 grammar school places across all 13 schools in the county — a county-wide qualifying rate of roughly one in five, or 20%. Dr Challoner's, with 180 Year 7 places, is one of the larger grammar schools in Buckinghamshire, but its location in the Chiltern Hills commuter belt — drawing from Amersham, Chesham, Gerrards Cross, and surrounding areas with very high parental aspiration — means it is consistently oversubscribed with qualified applicants.
Reaching the qualifying standard of 121 is necessary but not sufficient. In years where the school is oversubscribed — which is the norm — the admissions criteria determine who receives an offer. Boys in the defined catchment area are prioritised over out-of-catchment applicants at comparable scores. Within the catchment, where multiple boys are tied, distance to school is the deciding factor.
The practical implication for families: scoring at exactly 121 carries meaningful risk, particularly for out-of-catchment applicants. Boys who score comfortably above the threshold — in the range of 125 or higher — are in a significantly stronger position to secure a place regardless of whether they live in catchment. Families whose sons are likely to be borderline should be realistic about preparation timelines: meaningful score improvement requires consistent, structured work starting at least 12 months before the September test, not cramming in the final weeks.
Dr Challoner's academic outcomes attract particularly high parental demand. Over 95% of students achieve grade 5 or above in both GCSE English and Maths — a result that places the school in the top percentile of all state secondary schools nationally. The school has 1,300 pupils across Years 7 to 13, with approximately 500 in the co-educational sixth form.
Paper 1: Verbal Skills has three components that are distinct in what they test and how boys should prepare for them.
Comprehension presents an unseen passage — typically narrative fiction or non-fiction prose — and tests a child's ability to answer multiple-choice questions about its content. Questions assess explicit understanding, inference, vocabulary in context, and the author's use of language. Boys who read widely from Year 3 and 4 onwards build the vocabulary range and reading stamina that makes comprehension feel natural under exam conditions. This component cannot be effectively crammed in the final weeks; the foundation is laid over months of sustained reading.
Technical English is the component that most surprises families unfamiliar with the STT, because it rarely appears in standard primary school assessments. Questions cover: identifying the grammatically incorrect sentence in a set, selecting the correctly punctuated version of a sentence, identifying parts of speech or clause types, choosing the correct word form (verb tense, adjective/adverb distinction), and other applied grammar and punctuation questions. Boys who have not been specifically taught these question types are at a meaningful disadvantage in this section. However, because GL Assessment uses a consistent set of formats, technical English is highly learnable with targeted practice — and it is frequently where well-prepared boys pull ahead.
Verbal reasoning includes question types such as: word codes (if BOAT = 2150, what does COAT equal in the same code?), word analogies (daisy is to flower as oak is to ___), insert a missing word that works as both a suffix for one word and a prefix for another, identify the word that does not belong in a group, and letter or number sequences governed by a rule. GL Assessment verbal reasoning formats are consistent and predictable, meaning that systematic familiarisation with each type produces reliable improvement.
Paper 2: Non-Verbal and Mathematical Skills begins with the maths section. This covers the full Key Stage 2 curriculum but with an emphasis on multi-step problem-solving: fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio and proportion, area and perimeter, angles, coordinates, and data interpretation from charts and tables. The decisive factor in the maths section is not conceptual understanding alone but speed and accuracy under time pressure — boys who have practised maths in timed conditions consistently outperform those who have only done untimed work, even where underlying knowledge is comparable.
Non-verbal reasoning tests spatial awareness and abstract pattern recognition: which shape completes a sequence, which is the mirror image of a given shape, which pattern belongs to a group, and how a shape would appear after rotation or reflection. NVR feels unfamiliar to many children at first because it does not appear in the primary curriculum, but the question formats are consistent and become significantly more manageable once a child has been shown and practised each type. NVR is often the section where preparation makes the fastest observable gains.
Most families whose sons successfully enter Dr Challoner's Grammar School begin structured preparation in Year 4 or early Year 5 — roughly 12 to 18 months before the September test. This is not about working excessively hard from an early age; it is about ensuring the preparation programme covers all components thoroughly, with time for genuine understanding rather than last-minute drilling.
A well-structured programme for the Bucks STT typically runs in three phases. In the first phase (Year 4 or early Year 5), the focus is on building foundations: introducing all verbal and non-verbal reasoning question types for the first time, addressing any gaps in the KS2 maths curriculum, and establishing a reading habit that supports comprehension and technical English. Boys who have never seen a verbal reasoning question before Year 5 are not behind — these are learnable skills, not fixed abilities — but starting later compresses the time available for systematic familiarisation with each format.
In the second phase (middle Year 5 to approximately June), the focus shifts to timed practice: working through practice papers under realistic time conditions, learning to manage pace across both papers, and identifying which question types are still inconsistent. This is where a good tutor's value is clearest — diagnosing whether a dropped score reflects a comprehension strategy problem, an unfamiliar verbal reasoning format, a KS2 maths gap, or simply insufficient speed on a component the child otherwise understands.
In the third phase (June to early September of Year 6), the work is about consolidation: full mock tests under exam conditions, building mental stamina for two 45-minute papers back to back, and managing test-day nerves. Boys who enter September having completed this consistently are calm, well-practised, and performing close to their ceiling. Boys who begin serious preparation in this final phase are effectively cramming — and cramming rarely moves a score from below the qualifying standard to above it in a matter of weeks.
One important practical note on registration: boys at Buckinghamshire state-funded primary schools are entered for the STT automatically, and parents who do not want their son to sit must actively withdraw before the deadline. Boys at independent schools or schools outside Buckinghamshire must register manually during the registration window (1 May to 2 June 2026 for the September 2026 test). Missing this window means your son cannot sit the test that year.
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Dr Challoner's Grammar School has a defined catchment area used in its oversubscription criteria when more boys meet the qualifying standard than there are places available. The catchment covers: Amersham, Chesham, Chalfont St Giles, Chalfont Common, Gerrards Cross, Great Missenden, and Prestwood. A map is available on the school's admissions page. If your home address falls within this area, your son benefits from higher priority in the allocation process.
When the school is oversubscribed, places are allocated in the following order: first, looked-after and previously looked-after children; second, boys in catchment who receive the Pupil Premium; third, siblings of current pupils who live in the catchment area; fourth, all other qualifying applicants in the catchment area, prioritised by distance to school; fifth, all other qualifying applicants outside the catchment area, prioritised by distance.
Families outside the catchment area can and regularly do receive places at Dr Challoner's Grammar School. The school admits 180 boys each year, and in most cohorts, not all places are filled from within the catchment before out-of-catchment applicants are reached. The safest strategy for an out-of-catchment family is to aim for a score well above 121 — giving maximum flexibility across multiple school preferences — rather than relying on just reaching the qualifying threshold.
Parents should always download the current Admissions Policy for 2026 entry from the official Dr Challoner's Grammar School admissions page and check the TBGS website for the latest STT registration guidance and any updates to criteria.
Having prepared many boys for the Buckinghamshire 11+, our tutors observe consistent patterns among those who score well above the qualifying standard. These differences are about preparation quality, not innate ability.
They have specifically practised technical English. This is the component most commonly underweighted in preparation. Many families focus heavily on verbal reasoning formats and maths but spend little time on grammar and punctuation questions. Boys who have worked systematically through technical English — identifying sentence errors, selecting correctly punctuated options, recognising clause and phrase types — find Paper 1 significantly less stressful and score more consistently across all three of its components.
They understand verbal reasoning question types before the exam, not during it. GL Assessment verbal reasoning follows a stable and consistent set of formats. Boys who have been explicitly taught each format — who understand why the answer is correct, not just which answer to choose — outperform boys who have only guessed their way through practice papers. Systematic format-by-format teaching produces reliable accuracy on novel questions of the same type.
They have read widely and consistently for at least 12 months before the test. The comprehension section rewards breadth of reading more than specific exam preparation. Boys who read regularly — novels, non-fiction, newspapers, longer texts — develop the vocabulary range and reading stamina needed to process an unseen passage quickly and confidently. This cannot be manufactured in the weeks before the test; it is built over months.
They have done maths in timed conditions from early in Year 5. The maths section is not conceptually beyond strong KS2 pupils, but it is taken under time pressure. Boys who have drilled maths with a clock — working through problem sets with a strict time limit — develop the automatic number recall and checking habits that produce reliable scores. Boys who have only done untimed maths practice frequently run out of time on sections they understand but cannot complete fast enough.
Their preparation has been calm and consistent. Boys who perform closest to their ceiling on test day are those whose families maintained steady, supportive encouragement without generating excessive anxiety. The STT is a significant assessment, but it is sat by ten-year-olds across the county on the same September morning. A well-prepared boy who walks into the test centre on 10 September 2026 having worked consistently throughout Year 5 is in the best possible position to perform to his ability.
All 13 Buckinghamshire grammar schools use the same STT, so a qualifying score grants eligibility across the whole system. What determines which school a boy attends is the family's order of preferences on the Common Application Form and, where a school is oversubscribed, how his score and catchment status compare with other qualified applicants.
The school most directly compared to Dr Challoner's Grammar School is Dr Challoner's High School, the girls' selective grammar located in Little Chalfont, approximately two miles away. The two schools are entirely separate institutions with distinct governing bodies and admissions policies, but they share a similar academic culture, serve overlapping communities, and the sixth forms interact through joint activities and shared provision. Families with both sons and daughters in Year 5 commonly research both schools in parallel. Boys at DCGS regularly join the joint sixth form alongside former pupils of Dr Challoner's High School.
Other schools commonly considered alongside DCGS for Chiltern-area families include Beaconsfield High School (girls, approximately 8 miles), Wycombe High School (girls, approximately 10 miles), and schools further afield: Aylesbury Grammar School (boys), Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School (mixed), John Hampden Grammar School (boys, High Wycombe), and the Royal Latin School (mixed, Buckingham). All operate on the same STT pass, but each has its own catchment and oversubscription criteria.
What distinguishes Dr Challoner's Grammar School in practical terms: it is located in Amersham, which has excellent Metropolitan and Chiltern line rail connections, making it accessible from a wide radius; it is one of England's oldest grammar schools, founded in 1624; its co-educational sixth form is a well-established feature valued by many families; and its academic outcomes place it consistently among the top-performing state schools nationally.
For an overview of all Buckinghamshire grammar schools and how the STT system works as a whole, see our grammar school preparation complete guide for 2026. For a detailed breakdown of GL Assessment question formats, see our GL Assessment 11+ parent guide. For practical preparation advice from Year 4, see our guide to passing the 11+.
Dr Challoner's Grammar School admits 180 boys into Year 7 each year through the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test. For 2027 entry, the practice test takes place on Tuesday 8 September 2026 and the main test on Thursday 10 September 2026. Results are emailed to parents on Thursday 9 October 2026. The Common Application Form must be submitted to your home local authority by Saturday 31 October 2026. Boys at Buckinghamshire state-funded primary schools are registered automatically; boys at independent schools or outside Buckinghamshire must register manually during the window from 1 May to 2 June 2026.
The qualifying standard for any Buckinghamshire grammar school is a standardised score of 121 or above on the Secondary Transfer Test. This is not a fixed pass mark in the traditional sense — it is the minimum threshold at which a child is deemed grammar school-able and becomes eligible to apply to any of the 13 Buckinghamshire grammar schools, including Dr Challoner's. Reaching 121 does not guarantee a place: where the school is oversubscribed, the admissions criteria (catchment area, Pupil Premium, sibling priority, distance) determine who receives an offer. Families should aim to score comfortably above 121, not merely to reach it.
Dr Challoner's Grammar School has a defined catchment area covering: Amersham, Chesham, Chalfont St Giles, Chalfont Common, Gerrards Cross, Great Missenden, and Prestwood. Boys living within this area are prioritised over out-of-catchment applicants when the school is oversubscribed, once looked-after children and Pupil Premium qualifiers have been accommodated. The catchment area is a tie-breaker, not a guarantee: all boys who qualify on the STT may apply regardless of where they live. Out-of-catchment applicants who score well above the qualifying standard regularly receive places. The official catchment map is available on the Dr Challoner's Grammar School admissions website.
The Buckinghamshire STT is weighted 50% verbal ability (Paper 1: comprehension, technical English, and verbal reasoning), 25% numerical ability, and 25% non-verbal reasoning (both from Paper 2). This has a direct implication for how boys should divide preparation time. Verbal work collectively makes up half of the total score, so it deserves at least half of any structured preparation programme. That does not mean neglecting maths and NVR — both must be strong — but technical English (grammar and punctuation questions) is frequently overlooked and is fully learnable with targeted practice. Boys who invest proportionately in Paper 1 components have a structural advantage.
Yes. Dr Challoner's Grammar School is boys-only for Years 7 to 11, but operates a fully co-educational sixth form for Years 12 and 13. Girls from Dr Challoner's High School and other local schools join the DCGS sixth form for A-levels and post-16 qualifications, and the sixth form currently has around 500 students. This arrangement is well established and is often cited as a positive feature by families — boys benefit from a single-sex environment during the key 11-16 years while joining a mixed-gender sixth form community. It is worth considering when comparing DCGS to other Buckinghamshire grammar schools.
Leading Tuition provides specialist 11+ preparation for Dr Challoner's Grammar School and all Buckinghamshire grammar schools. Our tutors are experienced with the STT format — including the often-overlooked technical English component of Paper 1 — and we structure preparation around the 50/25/25 weighting to ensure no time is wasted on lower-priority areas. We work with boys from Year 4 upwards, tailoring each programme to the child's specific gaps rather than following a generic syllabus. We are rated 4.8/5 on Trustpilot by parents whose sons have secured grammar school places. To discuss your son's preparation, book a free consultation or message us on WhatsApp.
Leading Tuition prepares boys for Dr Challoner's Grammar School and all Buckinghamshire grammar schools. We understand the STT's 50/25/25 weighting and structure preparation accordingly. Rated 4.8/5 on Trustpilot.
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