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Hadlow Rural Community School

Secondary · Hadlow · TN11 0AU

Data updated

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Expected standard

Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)

The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.

Safeguarding: MetCurriculum & teaching: Expected standardAchievement: Expected standardAttendance & behaviour: Expected standardPersonal development: Expected standardInclusion: Expected standardLeadership & governance: Expected standardEarly years: Not applicablePost-16: Not applicable

Inspected 15 September 2026 · report published 13 October 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

377 pupils · 101% of 375 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)

School type
Free schools
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
33.4% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
1.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
27.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
8.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.hrcschool.org
URN
139697

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 109 families named it first for 77 Year 7 places, 1.42 first choices per place. We hold 3 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2024 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. At its report-card inspection on 15 September 2026, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Expected standard. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 11.8% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.42 first-choice applications per place

77 places offered · 109 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: not named in the council's figures. The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

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

GCSE results (2024/2025)

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

Attainment 8 score
36.3
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
47.8%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
30.4%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
3.2
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.

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

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school36.3
Median of its 12 closest peers39.7
Kent average48.4
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind 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
Atlantic AcademyBideford · 203 miles awayGood42.1
Thomas Hall SchoolExeter · 172 miles awayRequires improvement34.6
Danebury SchoolStockbridge · 80 miles awayInadequate34.3
Aylestone SchoolHereford · 142 miles awayRequires improvement36.3
Maiden Erlegh Chiltern EdgeReading · 60 miles awayExpected standard44.3
Digitech Studio SchoolBristol · 122 miles awayExpected standard31.2
Lift BroadlandsBristol · 123 miles awayGood31.8
Wensleydale SchoolLeyburn · 232 miles awayExpected standard41.5
Nidderdale High SchoolHarrogate · 217 miles awayNeeds attention41.8
Dyson Perrins CofE AcademyMalvern · 130 miles awayGood43.8
Forest Hall SchoolStansted Mountfitchet · 47 miles awayNeeds attention40.6
Walney AcademyBarrow-in-Furness · 249 miles awayRequires improvement38.7

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 90% (Kent 68%, England 59%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Kent 1%, England 2%) · Not recorded 2% (Kent 1%, England 2%) · Any other White background 2% (Kent 7%, England 7%) · White Gypsy/Roma 1% (Kent 0%, England 0%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (Kent 4%, England 3%) · other groups together 2%

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)
11.8%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
30.3%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

17.14 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Kent: 13.55 suspensions and 0.03 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
12.4
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

61% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 18% moved to another state school · 21% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

8.99% 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)

70.3% of teachers took sickness absence, 10.2 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 £56,489; 19.4% 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£9,622
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 71% (77%) · premises 7% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 7% (6%) · supplies and services 16% (11%) · educational supplies 6% (6%) · bought-in professional services 6% (1%) · catering 4% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £187,000; in-year balance -£78,000

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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
83%
Continuing in education
77%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
4%

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)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher39.7%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications12.1%18.1%
In managerial or professional work42.9%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways11.3%18.1%
Residents in very good health50.9%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier83.9%62.3%
Social housing5.9%17.1%
Privately rented10.2%20.5%
Detached houses42.8%22.9%
Flats7.7%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms38.5%21.1%
Households with no car or van6.9%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01024745 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£387,50070 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£331,000–£464,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (14)£612,500
Semi-detached (29)£400,000
Terraced (20)£335,000
Flat (7)£190,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most 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
0a rural school averages 0.3
Collisions at school-run times
1a rural school averages 0.7
All reported collisions
7a rural school averages 3.4
Of those, serious or fatal
2a rural school averages 0.9

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