John Hampden Grammar School

If you have a bright boy who wants to be stretched but would wilt in a high-pressure hothouse, John Hampden Grammar School is worth a look. It sits on Marlow Hill, close to the centre of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, and teaches around 1,260 boys aged 11 to 18. The Good Schools Guide calls it a purposeful place where pupils can be themselves and achieve personal bests in a focused but supportive and friendly environment. The school started life in the early 1890s as an art and technical school for the children of the town's craftsmen, and a practical, get-stuck-in spirit still runs through it.

What the Good Schools Guide picks out is the tone. The school, it says, is not overly macho, and celebrates boys for everything from sport to debating. There is plenty to do beyond lessons, with more than 100 clubs and activities and strong take-up among the youngest boys. Sport is open rather than elite, and nearly half of all Year 7 boys play in fixtures, with regular regional wins in football, athletics and swimming. If a worried parent's first question is whether their son will be looked after, the pastoral side is well staffed, with a welfare officer, two counsellors and a school nurse on hand.

This is a school that suits a boy who wants a real academic challenge but in a friendly setting rather than a pressured one, and who will make the most of everything on offer outside the classroom. It is led by headteacher Tracey Hartley, who became head in 2016 as the first woman to lead the school. The picture parents tend to take away is a straightforward one: a son who is pushed where it counts and still comes home happy.