Dr Challoner's Grammar School A GSG School
- Dr Challoner's Grammar School
Chesham Road
Amersham
Buckinghamshire
HP6 5HA - Head: David Atkinson
- T 01494 787500
- F 01494 721862
- E admin@challoners.com
- W www.challoners.com
- A state school for boys aged from 11 to 18.
- Read about the best schools in Buckinghamshire
- Boarding: No
- Local authority: Buckinghamshire
- Pupils: 1,368; sixth formers: 452 (361 boys, 91 girls)
- Religion: None
- Open days: September
- Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review
-
Ofsted:
- Latest Overall effectiveness Outstanding 1
- 16-19 study programmes Outstanding 1
- Outcomes for children and learners Outstanding 1
- Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding 1
- Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding 1
- Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding 1
- 1 Full inspection 5th November 2019
- Ofsted report: View the Ofsted report
What The Good Schools Guide says..
Remains Bucks’ top performing grammar, regularly appearing in the top 40 state schools nationally. Teachers roundly praised for being ‘fantastic’, ‘approachable and accommodating, although the kids do have to take responsibility for themselves’. Places are sought-after at this school with high standards across the board, confident in the merits and methods of asking a great deal of its pupils. Everything is on offer, from academic and house competitions (in everything you can think of) to sport, drama, music and more. It’s up to each child to make a success of their time at Challoner’s and almost all rise...
What the school says...
Entrance examination consists of: VR tests administered by Bucks County Council.
Converted to an academy January 2011.
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School associations
State grammar school
What The Good Schools Guide says
Headmaster
Since 2016, David Atkinson. Joined Challoner’s in 1996 straight from Oxford (wanted to teach in an ‘academic school’) as a geography teacher; then head of geography, director of sixth form and deputy head. Still teaches year 7. Spearheads an active involvement in the International Boys’ Schools Coalition and oversaw the establishment of Challoner’s as the Astra Teaching School Hub for Buckinghamshire. Appointed vice president of the Royal Geographical Society in recognition of his work in education.
His office features photo collages from school trips – he and pupils enthuse about the 2023 cricket tour to Sri Lanka – and a collection of thank you cards. ‘I've run sports teams, sing in the choir, been on countless trips – I want to get involved, I enjoy it.’ This commitment is recognised: ‘He...
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Overall school performance (for comparison or review only)
Results by exam and subject
Subject results
Entry/Exit
Special Education Needs
The school provides support for boys to access the normal curriculum co-ordinated by a SENCO, along with a small amount of one to one support provided by a dedicated SEN teacher.
| Condition | Provision for in school |
|---|---|
| ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Might cover/be referred to as;
ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Aspergers, Autism, High functioning autism, Neurodivergent, Neurodiversity, Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), PDA , Social skills, Sensory processing disorder |
Y |
| HI - Hearing Impairment
Might cover/be referred to as;
Hearing Impairment, HI - Hearing Impairment |
|
| MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
Learning needs, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty |
|
| MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment
Might cover/be referred to as;
MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, Sensory processing |
|
| OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability
Might cover/be referred to as;
Downs Syndrome, Epilepsy, Genetic , OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, Tics, Tourettes |
|
| PD - Physical Disability
Might cover/be referred to as;
PD - Physical Disability |
|
| PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
Complex needs, Global delay, Global developmental delay, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty |
|
| SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
Might cover/be referred to as;
Anxiety , Complex needs, Emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), Mental Health, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, Trauma |
|
| SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication
Might cover/be referred to as;
DLD - Developmental Language Disorder, Selective mutism, SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication |
|
| SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
Complex needs, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, Cerebral Palsy (CP) |
|
| SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Auditory Processing, DCD, Developmental Co-ordination Difficulties (DCD), Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Handwriting, Other specific learning difficulty, SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) |
Y |
| VI - Visual Impairment
Might cover/be referred to as;
Special facilities for Visually Impaired, VI - Visual Impairment |
Interpreting catchment maps
The maps show in colour where the pupils at a school came from*. Red = most pupils to Blue = fewest.
Where the map is not coloured we have no record in the previous three years of any pupils being admitted from that location based on the options chosen.
For help and explanation of our catchment maps see: Catchment maps explained
Further reading
If there are more applicants to a school than it has places for, who gets in is determined by which applicants best fulfil the admissions criteria.
Admissions criteria are often complicated, and may change from year to year. The best source of information is usually the relevant local authority website, but once you have set your sights on a school it is a good idea to ask them how they see things panning out for the year that you are interested in.
Many schools admit children based on distance from the school or a fixed catchment area. For such schools, the cut-off distance will vary from year to year, especially if the school give priority to siblings, and the pattern will be of a central core with outliers (who will mostly be siblings). Schools that admit on the basis of academic or religious selection will have a much more scattered pattern.
*The coloured areas outlined in black are Census Output Areas. These are made up of a group of neighbouring postcodes, which accounts for their odd shapes. These provide an indication, but not a precise map, of the school’s catchment: always refer to local authority and school websites for precise information.
The 'hotter' the colour the more children have been admitted.
Children get into the school from here:
regularly
most years
quite often
infrequently
sometimes, but not in this year
Who came from where
| School | Year | Places |
|---|---|---|
| Berkhamsted Pre-Prep and Prep School | 2024 | 3 |
| Charlotte House Preparatory School | 2024 | 4 |
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