Dr Challoner's High School

Academy converter·Secondary school Amersham, Buckinghamshire·HP7 9QB
Composite score
98.9
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#28
National rank
#5
In South East
#1
In Buckinghamshire
Top 0.9%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
79.1
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
100%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
100%
% EBacc grade 5+
91%
EBacc average points score
7.74

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Outstanding
Quality of education
Outstanding
Behaviour and attitudes
Outstanding
Personal development
Outstanding
Leadership and management
Outstanding
Safeguarding effective?
Yes
Sixth form provision
Outstanding

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
61%
302 first choices, 189 places
First choices per place
1.60
more first choices than places
Applications naming the school
703
any preference, for 189 places
Applications from another council area
27%
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.08
00.511.522.5
1 per place
1.5120221.8120231.6820241.5220251.602026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

We do not have a checked cut-off distance for Dr Challoner's High School yet. Buckinghamshire does publish allocation figures and we are working through them council by council — we only show a distance once we have found it in the council’s own document.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–18
Pupils on roll
1,358
Gender
Girls
Admissions
Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
2.9%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
15.8%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
2.8%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
0.3%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
5.3%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
13.4%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
18.7
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£7,479
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
100%
183 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
100%
Apprenticeship
0%
Employment
0%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About Dr Challoner's High School

Dr Challoner's High School is a girls' secondary school in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. Around 1,358 pupils aged 11 to 18 attend the school. The school holds an 'Outstanding' judgement from Ofsted. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 79.1 — well above the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has risen by 0.9 points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it among the top 1% of secondary schools in England.

100% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well above the national average of about 45%. 100% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Dr Challoner's High School is oversubscribed: about 6 in 10 of the families who made it their first choice were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026, with 302 first choices for 189 places. After Year 11, 100% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 5.3%. There are about 18.7 pupils per teacher. Its intake is relatively advantaged, with around 3% of pupils eligible for free school meals in the last six years versus about 24% nationally. When comparing schools, it is still worth visiting in person to see whether the atmosphere and approach suit your child. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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