John Hampden Grammar School
Marlow Hill, High Wycombe, HP11 1SZ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Trust
- JOHN HAMPDEN GRAMMAR SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Miss Tracey Hartley
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Constituency
- Wycombe
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,150
- Pupils on roll
- 1,281
- URN
- 136771
- Local authority
- Buckinghamshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01494529589
About this school
John Hampden Grammar School is a boys' secondary academy in High Wycombe. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,281 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 183 | 182 | 178 |
| Attainment 8 score | 72.9 | 73.2 | 72.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.83 +0.62 to +1.04 | +0.84 +0.62 to +1.05 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 99% | 94.5% | 97.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 100% | 98.9% | 99.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 85% | 73.6% | 71.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.7 |
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 John Hampden Grammar School 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 | 72.9 | 47.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 73.2 | 49.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 72.3 | 46.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,223 |
| 2023/24 | 1,258 |
| 2024/25 | 1,271 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How John Hampden Grammar School compares
John Hampden Grammar School ranked 12th 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 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 72.3 | 5.7% | 4.7% | 1,281 | — |
| Wycombe High School | 73.9 | 5.5% | 8% | 1,371 | 0.2 miles |
| Cressex Community School | 50.7 | 7.5% | 29.3% | 766 | 0.9 miles |
| The Highcrest Academy | 38.5 | 9.9% | 35.6% | 1,045 | 1.9 miles |
| The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe | 73.9 | 6.1% | 5.7% | 1,451 | 2.0 miles |
| Great Marlow School | 47.9 | 8.7% | 16.8% | 1,395 | 2.5 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 4.66%
- English as an additional language
- 20%
- Overall absence
- 5.72%
- Persistent absence
- 22.98%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Wycombe High School0.2 miles
Secondary · High Wycombe
-
Cressex Community School0.9 miles
Secondary · High Wycombe
-
The Highcrest Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · High Wycombe
-
The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe2.0 miles
Secondary · High Wycombe
-
Great Marlow School2.5 miles
Secondary · Marlow
Other schools in High Wycombe
John Hampden Grammar School ranks 3rd of the 8 ranked secondary schools in High Wycombe.
- Cressex Community School Secondary
- Holmer Green Senior School Secondary
- Sir William Ramsay School Secondary
- The Highcrest Academy Secondary
- The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe 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 John Hampden Grammar School teach?
- John Hampden Grammar School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in High Wycombe.
- Who is the headteacher of John Hampden Grammar School?
- The headteacher of John Hampden Grammar School is Miss Tracey Hartley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was John Hampden Grammar School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected John Hampden Grammar School, 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 John Hampden Grammar School?
- John Hampden Grammar School has 1,281 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is John Hampden Grammar School full?
- John Hampden Grammar School has capacity for 1,150 pupils and 1,281 on roll (111%), 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 John Hampden Grammar School a faith school?
- No. John Hampden Grammar School has no designated religious character.
- Is John Hampden Grammar School a selective school?
- Yes. John Hampden Grammar School is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- Who runs John Hampden Grammar School?
- John Hampden Grammar School is part of JOHN HAMPDEN GRAMMAR SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have John Hampden Grammar School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 72.9 in 2022/23 and 72.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does John Hampden Grammar School rank locally?
- John Hampden Grammar School ranked 12th 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 43% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is John Hampden Grammar School's absence rate?
- John Hampden Grammar School's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are John Hampden Grammar School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, John Hampden Grammar School'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.