England · Grammar school
Sir William Borlase's Grammar School
Marlow · Mixed (co-educational) · ages 11 to 18
Official record: Get Information About Schools (URN 136781)
Overview
- Address
- West Street, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, SL7 2BR
- Status
- Open
- Admits
- Mixed (co-educational)
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Number of pupils
- 1,222
- Capacity
- 1,085
- Eligible for free school meals
- 3.4%
- Sixth form
- Yes
- School type
- Academy converter
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- MARLOW EDUCATION TRUST
- Local authority
- Buckinghamshire
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026 · Source: Desk research (cited public sources) (reports.ofsted.gov.uk), last checked 31 October 2026
Admissions and the 11+
- Admissions policy
- Selective (grammar school)
- Selection in this area
- Fully selective area35% of Year 7 places offered in Buckinghamshire for September 2026 were at selective schools (DfE applications and offers). We class an area as fully selective at 25% or more. Confirm with the local authority's admissions guide.
- Entrance test
- Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test
- Qualifying score
- Qualifying score 121 (Secondary Transfer Test) (2026 entry)
- Catchment area
- For September 2026 entry, the school has a catchment area shown on maps on its website, including a smaller Priority Admission Area: up to 15 places go by random lottery to children living in that priority area.
- Children from outside the catchment
- Sometimes: For September 2026 entry, children outside the catchment area are only offered places after all catchment children. This happened in 2025 (up to 3.327 miles) but not in 2021–2024 or 2026, when places ran out inside the catchment area.
Past offers: lowest score and furthest distance
| Intake | Applicant group | Lowest score offered | Last distance offered | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | inside catchment (places offered on distance)Buckinghamshire Council allocation profile on national offer day (qualified applicants only). Not all qualified children living in the catchment area were offered places. The 15 priority-area places are given by lottery. | – | 5.02 km (3.12 miles) | buckinghamshire.gov.uk |
| Sept 2025 | outside catchment (places offered on distance)Buckinghamshire Council allocation profile on national offer day (qualified applicants only). All qualified children living in the catchment area were offered places. | – | 5.35 km (3.33 miles) | buckinghamshire.gov.uk |
| Sept 2024 | inside catchment (places offered on distance)Buckinghamshire Council allocation profile on national offer day (qualified applicants only). Not all qualified children living in the catchment area were offered places. | – | 6.02 km (3.74 miles) | buckinghamshire.gov.uk |
| Sept 2023 | inside catchment (places offered on distance)Buckinghamshire Council allocation profile on national offer day (qualified applicants only). Not all qualified children living in the catchment area were offered places. | – | 5.10 km (3.17 miles) | buckinghamshire.gov.uk |
| Sept 2022 | inside catchment (places offered on distance)Buckinghamshire Council allocation profile on national offer day (qualified applicants only). Not all qualified children living in the catchment area were offered places. | – | 5.13 km (3.19 miles) | buckinghamshire.gov.uk |
| Sept 2021 | inside catchment (places offered on distance)Buckinghamshire Council allocation profile on national offer day (qualified applicants only). Not all qualified children living in the catchment area were offered places. | – | 4.63 km (2.88 miles) | buckinghamshire.gov.uk |
From published allocation data found in desk research (checked 1 November 2026); not yet confirmed with the school. Scores from different tests or years are not comparable, and a past cut-off does not guarantee a future place.
Applications and offers for Year 7
For September 2026 entry, 714 applicants named this school (257 as their first choice) for 146 places. 40 of 146 offers went to children living outside Buckinghamshire.
| Intake | Places offered | Applicants | First choice | First choices per place | Offers to children outside Buckinghamshire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | 146 | 714 | 257 | 1.8 | 40 |
| Sept 2025 | 147 | 620 | 220 | 1.5 | 52 |
| Sept 2024 | 147 | 657 | 220 | 1.5 | 44 |
| Sept 2023 | 150 | 595 | 213 | 1.4 | 36 |
| Sept 2022 | 150 | 649 | 240 | 1.6 | 39 |
Show all 13 years
| Intake | Places offered | Applicants | First choice | First choices per place | Offers to children outside Buckinghamshire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2021 | 149 | 855 | 384 | 2.6 | 35 |
| Sept 2020 | 149 | 725 | 246 | 1.7 | 34 |
| Sept 2019 | 121 | 680 | 258 | 2.1 | 24 |
| Sept 2018 | 120 | 613 | 218 | 1.8 | 36 |
| Sept 2017 | 120 | 631 | 222 | 1.9 | 36 |
| Sept 2016 | 120 | 649 | 225 | 1.9 | 28 |
| Sept 2015 | 120 | 509 | 150 | 1.3 | 46 |
| Sept 2014 | 119 | 530 | 176 | 1.5 | 49 |
"Applicants" counts every family that listed the school as any preference, so it is higher than the number competing for each place. "Outside Buckinghamshire" means a home in another local authority; it is not the school's catchment area. For grammar schools, offers also depend on the entrance test result.
Source: Secondary and primary school applications and offers (Department for Education), last checked 31 October 2026
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026 · Source: Admissions research (cited public sources) (buckinghamshire.gov.uk, swbgs.com, buckinghamshire.gov.uk), last checked 1 November 2026
Key dates for September 2027 entry
- Test registration (Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test)
- 1 May 2026 to 2 June 2026
- Test date
- 8 September 2026, 10 September 20268 Sep is the Practice Test, 10 Sep the Transfer Test. Council says results released mid-October 2026; 9 Oct from several sources. Children at state-funded Bucks primaries are registered automatically; others register (opens 10am). Qualifying score 121. Older guide gave different window (2 May-13 June), likely outdated.
- Results sent to families
- 9 October 2026
- Apply to your council (September 2027 entry)
- By 31 October 2026This date has passed: late applications go to your council and are usually considered after on-time ones.
- National offer day
- 1 March 2027Offers are sent on 1 March, or the next working day.
- Open days
- Not yet available
- School opened (current registration)
- 1 June 2011
Unverified: test dates come from desk research (high confidence). Confirm them with the council or test organiser. Sources: buckinghamshire.gov.uk, owltutors.co.uk.
Statutory dates: School Admissions Code (Department for Education).
Guide to the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test and its schools · How applying works
Source: Test dates research (cited public sources) (buckinghamshire.gov.uk), last checked 1 November 2026 · Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026
Ofsted inspection
Inspected on 1 May 2024: overall Outstanding. Read the report ↗
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form provision
- Outstanding
Inspection history (3)
Source: Ofsted inspection reports, last checked 31 October 2026
Exam results
GCSE results 2025/26 (provisional)
| Measure | This school | Selective schools in England | All state schools in England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8Average grade across 8 GCSE-level subjects, doubled for English and maths (maximum 90). | 76.7 | 72.1 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 98% | 93.7% | 46.3% |
| Grade 7 or above in English and maths | 74.8% | 57.7% | 14.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 99.3% | 98.3% | 64.8% |
| Progress 8Not published for most schools in recent years, because primary school tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021. | – | – | – |
Attainment 8 over time: 73.8 (2023/24) → 72.4 (2024/25) → 76.7 (2025/26).
151 pupils took GCSEs. Results reflect a selective intake: compare grammar schools with each other rather than with all schools.
Source: Key stage 4 performance (GCSE results) (Department for Education), last checked 31 October 2026
How to get there
- Postcode
- SL7 2BR
- Map location
- 51.57022, -0.78163
- Open in OpenStreetMap
- Directions and surroundings ↗
- Telephone
- 01628816500
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026
Official links and documents
- School website
- www.swbgs.com
- Official register record
- Get Information About Schools (URN 136781) ↗
- Admissions policy document
- Not yet available
- Further reading
- Wikipedia ↗
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026