Sir William Borlase's Grammar School
Secondary · Academy converter · Mixed · Buckinghamshire
West Street, Marlow, SL7 2BR
100
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Outstanding
Graded 01/05/2024
Application demand
66%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
94.4%
14.0% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,222
Capacity used
Over capacity113%
1,085 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
66%
1st preference success rate
145 of 220 families who put it first got an offer
147
Places offered
620
Total applications
4.2
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 220 | 145 | ● 66% |
| 2nd preference | 153 | 2 | ● 1% |
| 3rd preference | 120 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Later preferences (4th–6th) | 127 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 620 | 147 | 24% |
1st preference success by year
Buckinghamshire lets families list 6 preferences. 245 applications came from outside the council area (52 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Last distance offered
From Buckinghamshire council's allocation report on offer day. It changes every year, so treat it as a guide.
September 2026 entry
5.02 km
Furthest child offered under "Selective, then distance"
Grammar school — only children who pass the entrance test qualify; the distance applies to qualified applicants.
All applicants offered under rule 1 (Looked After Children), rule 2 (Catchment & Pupil Premium scoring 110-120) and rule 3 (Catchment & Free School Meals). Full quota of applicants offered under rule 4 (Priority Area), all applicants offered under rule 5 (Children of Staff), rule 6{7} (Catchment Siblings) and some allocated under rule 6 (Catchment) to 3.121 miles.
September 2025 entry
5.35 km
Furthest child offered under "Selective, then distance"
Grammar school — only children who pass the entrance test qualify; the distance applies to qualified applicants.
All applicants offered under rule 2 (catchment Pupil Premium scoring between 110 and 120), rule 3 (catchment Free School Meals), rule 4 (priority area - 15 places), rule 5 (children of staff), rule 6 (catchment), rule 7 (siblings) and some allocated under rule 9 (distance) to 3.327 miles.
Currently available for Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Enfield schools, from council allocation reports. Distances are straight-line from home to school.
Details
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Ed Goodall
- Address
- West Street, Marlow, SL7 2BR
- Phone
- 01628816500
- Local authority
- Buckinghamshire
- Ward / constituency
- Marlow · Beaconsfield
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 136781
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 3% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 10% | — | — |
| SEN support | 8% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 1 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: MARLOW EDUCATION TRUST
1,222 pupils · 1,085 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 24
01 May 2024
Full graded inspection
Outstanding overall effectivenessSixth form Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Quality of education Outstanding Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 755 pupils
Attendance
94.4%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
5.6%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
14.0%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
1.2%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
0.4%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 73.8 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.56 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 98% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 99% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 7.10 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
A-level results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 43.74 | — | — |
Average grade: B+ (England B-)
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 72.4 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 96.7% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 99.3% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 80.8% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 6.87 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 151 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
A-level results over time
Average points per entry by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 44.75 | 35 |
| Average grade | B+ | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 44.4% | 17% |
| A-level students | 226 | — |
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 151 | 77% | 98% | 99% | |
| English Language | 151 | 67% | 95% | 99% | |
| English Literature | 149 | 60% | 93% | 99% | |
| Biology | 128 | 75% | 99% | 100% | |
| Physics | 128 | 73% | 98% | 100% | |
| Chemistry | 128 | 71% | 97% | 100% | |
| History | 106 | 54% | 92% | 94% | |
| Spanish | 77 | 49% | 79% | 88% | |
| Geography | 77 | 69% | 96% | 99% | |
| Physical Education | 54 | 50% | 93% | 94% | |
| Drama | 50 | 74% | 98% | 100% | |
| Computer Science | 45 | 71% | 100% | 100% |
A level
| Subject | Entries | A* | A*–A | A*–B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 138 | 25% | 64% | 80% | |
| Biology | 81 | 16% | 60% | 81% | |
| Psychology | 59 | 8% | 42% | 75% | |
| Economics | 55 | 4% | 35% | 76% | |
| Physics | 50 | 22% | 66% | 82% | |
| Chemistry | 48 | 6% | 50% | 83% | |
| Business Studies | 38 | 8% | 34% | 66% | |
| History | 33 | 6% | 45% | 91% | |
| Mathematics (Further) | 32 | 50% | 63% | 88% | |
| English Literature | 25 | 16% | 64% | 92% | |
| Computer Science | 24 | 25% | 63% | 92% | |
| Geography | 22 | 23% | 50% | 95% |
Oxbridge
Cambridge offers by year
Ranked #42 of 1,018 UK schools with Cambridge offers2
UCAS apply centre 10137: Sir William Borlase's Grammar School
| Cambridge admissions1 | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Applications | 34 |
| Offers | 12 |
| Success rate | 35% |
| Accepted offers | 9 |
1 Source: University of Cambridge, applications, offers and acceptances by UCAS apply centre. To protect privacy small counts are hidden: "<3" means 0–2 (up to 2023); "≤5" means 1–5 (from 2024). Success rate is only shown when exact numbers are published (England average is about 20%).
2 Schools ranked by number of offers; this doesn't account for school size. Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures, so they aren't shown.
Where students go next
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higher education (university) | 71% | — | — |
| Apprenticeships | 2% | — | — |
| Any education or training | 73% | — | — |
Oxford/Cambridge application numbers aren't published per school in official data, so university progression is shown instead.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 5 km — based on the last distance offered, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Buckinghamshire council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.