The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe
Amersham Road, High Wycombe, HP13 6QT
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- ROYAL GRAMMAR SCHOOL HIGH WYCOMBE
- Headmaster
- Mr Philip Wayne
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Boarding
- Boarding school
- Constituency
- Wycombe
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,371
- Pupils on roll
- 1,451
- URN
- 136484
- Local authority
- Buckinghamshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01494524955
About this school
The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe is a boys' secondary academy in High Wycombe. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,451 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found the school has improved significantly.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 203 | 202 | 207 |
| Attainment 8 score | 76.0 | 75.1 | 73.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.96 +0.75 to +1.17 | +1.13 +0.92 to +1.34 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 99% | 98.5% | 97.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 100% | 99.5% | 100% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 89% | 86.6% | 94.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 7.4 | 7.2 | 7.2 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Buckinghamshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 76 | 47.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 75.1 | 49.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 73.9 | 46.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,424 |
| 2023/24 | 1,418 |
| 2024/25 | 1,409 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe compares
The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe ranked 6th of 36 secondary schools in Buckinghamshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 98% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 73.9 | 6.1% | 5.7% | 1,451 | — |
| The Highcrest Academy | 38.5 | 9.9% | 35.6% | 1,045 | 1.0 miles |
| Sir William Ramsay School | 35.4 | 11.6% | 33.8% | 984 | 1.3 miles |
| Wycombe High School | 73.9 | 5.5% | 8% | 1,371 | 1.8 miles |
| John Hampden Grammar School | 72.3 | 5.7% | 4.7% | 1,281 | 2.0 miles |
| Holmer Green Senior School | 47.1 | 7.5% | 11.1% | 1,244 | 2.4 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report26 February 2025
- 9 October 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 5.69%
- English as an additional language
- 29.5%
- Overall absence
- 6.06%
- Persistent absence
- 25.28%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Highcrest Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · High Wycombe
-
Sir William Ramsay School1.3 miles
Secondary · High Wycombe
-
Wycombe High School1.8 miles
Secondary · High Wycombe
-
John Hampden Grammar School2.0 miles
Secondary · High Wycombe
-
Holmer Green Senior School2.4 miles
Secondary · High Wycombe
Other schools in High Wycombe
The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe ranks 1st of the 8 ranked secondary schools in High Wycombe.
- Cressex Community School Secondary
- Holmer Green Senior School Secondary
- John Hampden Grammar School Secondary
- Sir William Ramsay School Secondary
- The Highcrest Academy Secondary
- Wycombe High School Secondary
- Bowerdean Nursery School Nursery
- Abbey View Primary Academy Primary
- Ash Hill Primary School Primary
- Ash Hill Primary School Primary
- Beechview Academy Primary
- Bledlow Ridge School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe teach?
- The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in High Wycombe.
- Who is the headmaster of The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe?
- The headmaster of The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe is Mr Philip Wayne, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe?
- The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe has 1,451 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe full?
- The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe has capacity for 1,371 pupils and 1,451 on roll (106%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe a faith school?
- No. The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe has no designated religious character.
- Is The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe a selective school?
- Yes. The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- Who runs The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe?
- The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe is part of ROYAL GRAMMAR SCHOOL HIGH WYCOMBE. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 76 in 2022/23 and 73.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe rank locally?
- The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe ranked 6th of 36 secondary schools in Buckinghamshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 98% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe's absence rate?
- The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe's overall absence rate is 6.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.