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Hitchin Girls' School

Secondary · Hitchin · SG4 9RS

Data updated

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Outstanding

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: OutstandingBehaviour & attitudes: OutstandingPersonal development: OutstandingLeadership & management: OutstandingSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 8 October 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,357 pupils · 97% of 1,400 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–18
Gender
Girls
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
7.1% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
14.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
12.2% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
http://www.hgs.herts.sch.uk/
URN
137288

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 262 families named it first for 206 Year 7 places, 1.27 first choices per place. We hold 12 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2015 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. At its inspection on 8 October 2024 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Outstanding. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.1% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.27 first-choice applications per place

206 places offered · 262 first-choice applications · oversubscribed

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: defined priority area.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Cutoff by admission criterion (2026 entry)

In Priority Area, Nearest School
6404.71 m (≈3.98 mi)
In Priority Area, Not Nearest School
1757.59 m (≈1.09 mi)

Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

208 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
57.8
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
86.1%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
68.8%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
5
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) B
38.7
England 35

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school57.8
Median of its 12 closest peers56.1
Hertfordshire average50.9
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is in line with the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Sir John Lawes SchoolHarpenden · 9 miles awayOutstanding62.8
Highdown School and Sixth Form CentreReading · 44 miles awayGood50.4
Bishop Ramsey Church of England SchoolRuislip · 26 miles awayGood56
St Clement Danes SchoolRickmansworth · 22 miles awayOutstanding65.1
All Saints Catholic School YorkYork · 143 miles awayOutstanding53.7
Bullers Wood SchoolChislehurst · 40 miles awayGood56.3
St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary AcademyIlkley · 147 miles awayOutstanding55
St John Fisher Catholic AcademyHarrogate · 150 miles awayGood55.1
Haybridge High School and Sixth FormStourbridge · 86 miles awayGood59.3
Northampton School for BoysNorthampton · 32 miles awayOutstanding58.2
Heathside SchoolWeybridge · 41 miles awayGood58.7
Walton High SchoolStafford · 96 miles awayNo current grade50.6

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 67% (Hertfordshire 60%, England 59%) · Asian Indian 6% (Hertfordshire 4%, England 4%) · Any other White background 4% (Hertfordshire 9%, England 7%) · Mixed White and Asian 3% (Hertfordshire 3%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 3% (Hertfordshire 3%, England 3%) · Asian Chinese 2% (Hertfordshire 2%, England 1%) · Not recorded 2% (Hertfordshire 1%, England 2%) · Asian Bangladeshi 2% (Hertfordshire 1%, England 2%) · Black African 2% (Hertfordshire 4%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Hertfordshire 3%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Hertfordshire 2%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Hertfordshire 2%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Hertfordshire 1%, England 1%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Hertfordshire 2%, England 5%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Hertfordshire 1%, England 1%)

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
6.1%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
14.7%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

5.60 suspensions per 100 pupils and 2 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Hertfordshire: 13.41 suspensions and 0.12 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
16.5
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

85% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 3% moved to another state school · 11% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

76.7% of teachers took sickness absence, 5.5 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £52,467; 8.3% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£7,404
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 76% (77%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 7% (6%) · supplies and services 12% (11%) · educational supplies 9% (6%) · bought-in professional services 2% (1%) · catering 4% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £1,295,000; in-year balance -£70,000

Spending and reserves, last three years Premium

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
99%
Continuing in education
98%
Apprenticeship

suppressed (small cohort)

Employment

suppressed (small cohort)

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
63%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
24%
Any sustained destination
92%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher57%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications7.6%18.1%
In managerial or professional work57%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways8.1%18.1%
Residents in very good health58.2%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier64.6%62.3%
Social housing5%17.1%
Privately rented30.5%20.5%
Detached houses20.1%22.9%
Flats45.4%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms28.5%21.1%
Households with no car or van20.5%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01023609 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£410,000703 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£275,000–£560,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (88)£734,000
Semi-detached (152)£557,000
Terraced (161)£450,000
Flat (302)£262,500

Homes around this school are dearer than three quarters of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
2an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
3an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
23an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
2an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools