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Dr Challoner's Grammar School vs Chesham Grammar School

At a glance

Dr Challoner's Grammar School and Chesham Grammar School are both in Buckinghamshire and 2.3 miles apart in a straight line.

Only Dr Challoner's Grammar School has a graded Ofsted inspection in our data (Outstanding, 2019).

Attainment 8 scores were close in 2025-26 (provisional): 76.2 at Dr Challoner's Grammar School and 75.6 at Chesham Grammar School.

Progress 8 was not published for 2025-26 (provisional) so this comparison relies on attainment.

Overall absence in 2024-25 was 5.2% at Dr Challoner's Grammar School and 5.7% at Chesham Grammar School.

Dr Challoner's Grammar School has 1,368 pupils for 1,356 published places (101%) and Chesham Grammar School has 1,326 for 1,219 (109%).

Built from the figures in the table below. Sources and years are given next to every figure.

Side by side

Dr Challoner's Grammar School compared with Chesham Grammar School
Measure Dr Challoner's Grammar School Chesham Grammar School
Ofsted
Overall Ofsted grade Ofsted MI, inspections to 31 May 2026 Outstanding 2019 No graded inspection in our data
School profile
Type GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract Academy converter Academy converter
Phase and age range GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract Secondary, ages 11-18 Secondary, ages 11-18
Location GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract Amersham, Buckinghamshire Chesham, Buckinghamshire
Pupils on roll GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract 1,368 1,326
Results and attendanceEach row shows the latest year both schools have a figure for. "Stronger" marks a gap big enough to matter in a year both schools report. Rounding-level differences are not marked. Attainment figures reflect each school's intake as well as its teaching. Progress 8 is the only measure here that adjusts for pupils' starting points.
Attainment 8 (average score) DfE KS4 results, 2025-26 (provisional) 76.2 75.6
Progress 8 score DfE KS4 results, 2023-24 Progress 8 was not published for the 2025-26 (provisional) results because the Department for Education did not calculate it for that cohort. The last published year is shown. Confidence intervals overlap so there is no clear difference. +1.18 +0.84
Grade 5+ in English and maths DfE KS4 results, 2025-26 (provisional) 99% 98%
Grade 4+ in English and maths DfE KS4 results, 2025-26 (provisional) 100% 99%
Pupils at the end of key stage 4 DfE KS4 results, 2025-26 (provisional) 185 179
A-level average point score DfE A-level results, 2024-25 47.41 Stronger 46.29
A-level average grade DfE A-level results, 2024-25 A- A-
A-level students in the point score measure DfE A-level results, 2024-25 220 210
Overall absence (lower is better) DfE pupil absence, 2024-25 5.2% Stronger 5.7%
Persistent absence (lower is better) DfE pupil absence, 2024-25 Share of pupils missing 10% or more of sessions. 14.2% 12.6% Stronger
Intake and admissionsNot marked as stronger or weaker. These rows describe who a school serves and how its places are filled. They do not measure teaching quality so a higher or lower figure is not better.
Pupils eligible for free school meals GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract 2.6% 2.1%
Published capacity (places) GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract 1,356 1,219
Pupils on roll as % of capacity GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract, pupils divided by capacity 101% 109%
Admissions policy GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract Selective (entry by test) Selective (entry by test)
Religious character GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract None recorded None recorded

"Not published" means the figure is not published or is suppressed for that school and year. It does not mean zero.

Trends over time

Solid blue line with round markers: Dr Challoner's Grammar School. Dashed amber line with square markers: Chesham Grammar School. Years with no published figure for either school are left off the axis.

Attainment 8 (average score), higher is better
Attainment 8 (average score) by yearDr Challoner's Grammar School: 2022-23 77.5, 2023-24 77.5, 2024-25 73.9, 2025-26 76.2. Chesham Grammar School: 2022-23 76.0, 2023-24 76.7, 2024-25 74.0, 2025-26 75.6.73.074.075.076.077.078.022-2323-2424-2525-26
Show these figures as a table
YearDr Challoner's Grammar SchoolChesham Grammar School
2022-2377.576.0
2023-2477.576.7
2024-2573.974.0
2025-26 (provisional)76.275.6

Source: DfE key stage 4 results, 2022-23 to 2025-26. The latest year is provisional.

Overall absence (% of sessions), lower is better
Overall absence (% of sessions) by yearDr Challoner's Grammar School: 2018-19 4.0%, 2021-22 5.8%, 2022-23 5.4%, 2023-24 5.5%, 2024-25 5.2%. Chesham Grammar School: 2018-19 3.8%, 2021-22 6.3%, 2022-23 5.5%, 2023-24 5.2%, 2024-25 5.7%.3.04.05.06.07.018-1921-2222-2323-2424-25
Show these figures as a table
YearDr Challoner's Grammar SchoolChesham Grammar School
2018-194.0%3.8%
2021-225.8%6.3%
2022-235.4%5.5%
2023-245.5%5.2%
2024-255.2%5.7%

Source: DfE pupil absence, 2018-19 to 2024-25.

Grade 5+ in English and maths (% of pupils), higher is better
Grade 5+ in English and maths (% of pupils) by yearDr Challoner's Grammar School: 2022-23 100%, 2023-24 100%, 2024-25 96%, 2025-26 99%. Chesham Grammar School: 2022-23 98%, 2023-24 100%, 2024-25 97%, 2025-26 98%.9697989910022-2323-2424-2525-26
Show these figures as a table
YearDr Challoner's Grammar SchoolChesham Grammar School
2022-23100%98%
2023-24100%100%
2024-2596%97%
2025-26 (provisional)99%98%

Source: DfE key stage 4 results, 2022-23 to 2025-26. The latest year is provisional.

Admissions: how the two schools differ

Distance between the schools: 2.3 miles in a straight line between the two school sites. The coordinates come from the GIAS (DfE) March 2026 extract. This is not a walking or driving distance and it does not show which school your address is in catchment for.

How full they are: pupils on roll divided by published capacity from the GIAS (DfE) March 2026 extract. Both figures cover every year group (including any sixth form). Treat the percentage as a rough guide to demand rather than the size of the Year 7 intake.

Dr Challoner's Grammar School

Capacity
1,356 places
Pupils on roll
1,368
Full
101% (at or over capacity)
Admissions policy
Selective (entry by test)
Religious character
None recorded

Source: GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract. Each school's own admissions policy sets its oversubscription criteria. It is published by Buckinghamshire (official admissions page) or by the school.

Check the catchment for your postcode Dr Challoner's Grammar School catchment page

Chesham Grammar School

Capacity
1,219 places
Pupils on roll
1,326
Full
109% (at or over capacity)
Admissions policy
Selective (entry by test)
Religious character
None recorded

Source: GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract. Each school's own admissions policy sets its oversubscription criteria. It is published by Buckinghamshire (official admissions page) or by the school.

Check the catchment for your postcode Chesham Grammar School catchment page

Sources

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Attainment 8 and Progress 8 are only comparable between schools within the same year.

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