Aylesbury Grammar School is one of Buckinghamshire's long-established selective schools: founded in 1598, moved to its present Walton Road site in 1907, and now educating boys from Year 7 through a large sixth form. Its own history page gives the school a distinctive local story, from the original free school in Aylesbury to the later split that created Aylesbury High School in 1959. The modern school still leans into that civic identity, describing itself as a place where boys are expected to flourish academically, develop character, and contribute to the wider community.
The academic offer is broad and traditional in grammar-school terms. The headmaster's welcome emphasises an uncompromised curriculum, innovative learning, and rich opportunities across both curricular and extra-curricular life. The school site points to dedicated Key Stage 3, GCSE and sixth-form areas, with sixth-form numbers large enough to make post-16 study a visible part of the campus rather than an add-on. AGS also keeps a strong house culture, with long-running sporting and artistic competitions that give pupils a route into belonging beyond teaching groups.
School life is not presented as exam preparation alone. The website signposts performing arts, sport, Duke of Edinburgh, educational visits, clubs and societies, community links, the Professor William Mead Library, and pastoral support. The facilities story is also rooted in the school's history: the Foundation has supported major additions such as laboratories, the sports hall, the science block and Foundation Hall, while the facilities record highlights library and performing-arts provision.
Year 7 admission is through the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test, with 186 places. The test is age-standardised and weighted 50% verbal, 25% mathematics and 25% non-verbal, with English and verbal reasoning in paper 1 and non-verbal reasoning plus mathematics in paper 2. A score of 121 is the Buckinghamshire qualifying standard, but higher scores do not create a higher priority for places. If qualified demand exceeds places, the AGS policy gives priority through categories including looked-after status, reserved lower-score places for specified applicants, catchment pupil premium, sibling links, staff children, exceptional medical or social need, catchment residence and then distance. Public outcomes are strong: Ofsted Outstanding after the 2022 inspection, +0.86 Progress 8, 99.5% grade 5+ in English and maths, and 35.6% AAB or better at A level.
