Burnham Grammar School: Admissions Guide & 11+ Preparation

Admissions & Oversubscription Criteria

Burnham Grammar uses the standard Buckinghamshire admissions criteria: the 121 qualifying score is required, with oversubscription resolved by distance after looked-after children and siblings. Its southern location means applications come from near the county boundary with Berkshire and from areas with relatively fewer nearby grammar school options.

All Buckinghamshire grammar schools share the same entry requirement: a standardised score of 121 or above on the Secondary Transfer Test. Qualification is necessary but not sufficient — at oversubscribed schools, qualified applicants compete for places on the basis of each school's published oversubscription criteria. These are typically ordered as: looked-after children, siblings of current pupils, then distance from the school gate in ascending order. All families should read the individual school's admissions policy (available from the school and via Buckinghamshire Council's admissions portal) rather than relying on general summaries.

Catchment & Location

The school serves Burnham, Taplow, Cippenham, and parts of the Slough area. Families near the Berkshire/Bucks border who wish to access Buckinghamshire selective education often focus on Burnham Grammar as their nearest option. The school also draws from Beaconsfield to the north.

Distance Cut-Off

Burnham's position in the south of the county, away from the densely served High Wycombe and Amersham corridors, means its effective distance cut-off for non-sibling places may differ from the higher-profile schools. Families in the immediate Burnham and Slough border area are typically well-placed.

Distance cut-offs vary year to year based on the number of qualifying applicants and the proportion who list this school on their SCAF. In years with higher-than-average qualifying rates across Buckinghamshire, the effective catchment distance at popular schools can compress. Families should use any published historical cut-off figures as a guide only — the actual distance for any given year is determined at the point of offer in March.

What Makes Burnham Grammar Distinctive

Burnham Grammar is one of the mixed grammar schools in Buckinghamshire. Its location in the south of the county makes it particularly relevant for families in the Slough borders and eastern Berkshire who are eligible for Buckinghamshire state grammar school places.

The Admissions Process for Burnham Grammar

There is no separate entrance examination for Burnham Grammar — entry is based entirely on the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test result. The process for families applying to this school follows the standard Buckinghamshire grammar school admissions timeline:

Preparation Advice for Burnham Grammar Applicants

Children applying to Burnham Grammar from areas near the Berkshire border should confirm their eligibility for Buckinghamshire grammar school places. The qualification process is the same as for all 13 Bucks grammar schools, and preparation using GL Assessment materials applies equally.

Because Burnham Grammar is typically oversubscribed, qualifying at the threshold is not sufficient to guarantee a place for families who do not live close to the school. For families in the likely catchment area, qualifying comfortably above 121 reduces the risk of a borderline result that could be questioned in a difficult year. For families outside the typical catchment, qualifying is a prerequisite but the admissions outcome depends on distance — not on how far above 121 a child scores.

What the Four Test Domains Look Like

Regardless of which grammar school a family targets, all applicants must qualify via the same Secondary Transfer Test. The four domains are: Verbal Reasoning (word codes, analogies, compound words, sequences), Non-Verbal Reasoning and Spatial Reasoning (matrices, reflections, rotations, nets, cube views), Mathematical Reasoning (number, fractions, percentages, ratio, algebra, shape, data), and English Comprehension (retrieval, inference, vocabulary in context, author technique). All answers are multiple-choice. The test is delivered with audio timing — a recorded voice announces each section and controls the pace throughout.

Practice with a GL Assessment-style readiness check early in Year 5 identifies which domains need the most work before the September Year 6 test. Domain-specific practice, timed papers, and realistic mock conditions in the summer holidays are the core of effective preparation.