Hill House School, London

Independent
Other independent school
Mixed
Ages 413

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mr E J S Townend
Pupils:396 / 990 capacity
LA:Kensington and Chelsea
Phone:02075841331
Address:Hans Place, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 0EP
Admissions:Non-selective
Status:open
Opened:27 March 1958

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 1 year ago
-

Overall

Inspected 1 July 2025View full report
URN:100518
UKPRN:10018546
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:Kensington and Bayswater
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

Hill House School has effective teaching with specialist staff who understand their pupils' needs and abilities well. Pupils are enthusiastic learners with positive attitudes and good behaviour. The school places strong emphasis on academic achievement and preparing pupils thoroughly for their next stage of education.

Key Strengths

  • Teaching is effective with good subject knowledge and well-planned lessons that help pupils progress
  • Pupils have positive attitudes to school, show eagerness to learn, and demonstrate good behaviour
  • Strong emphasis on academic attainment with thorough preparation for secondary school transition
  • Respectful relationships between staff and pupils

Areas for Improvement

  • Safeguarding policies are out of date and procedures are not rigorous enough to keep pupils safe
  • Fire safety procedures not regularly tested - fire drills infrequent and fire risk assessment from 2010 not reviewed
  • Attendance monitoring is lax with incomplete register entries and delayed contact with parents about absences
  • Risk assessments for outings, sports and educational visits not routinely carried out
  • Staff recruitment records poorly managed with missing medical fitness checks and unexplained gaps in employment history
  • Premises not regularly checked for safety issues and information provided to parents is out of date

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is not effective - policies are out of date, risk assessments for activities are missing, fire safety procedures are inadequate, and attendance monitoring does not ensure immediate safety when pupils are absent.

Hill House School is an international preparatory school in London with 990 pupils across five sites. This emergency inspection found effective teaching but serious safeguarding and compliance failures that require immediate action.

Fees (2025)

Day fee

£9,660/term

£28,980/yr

At a Glance

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

What Parents Think

38 responses
Would recommend95%
Child is happy95%
Well taught95%
Good progress92%
Feels safe95%
Well behaved95%
Bullying dealt with18%
Kept informed95%
Handles concerns66%
Wider development95%

Source: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree

Class Sizes

0.0

Avg class size

0

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

Social & online

Getting There

Tube / Metro / Tram

Knightsbridge Station
334m · 5 min walk
Knightsbridge Underground Station
472m · 8 min walk
Sloane Square
589m · 10 min walk

Bus Stops

Pont Street (Stop KL)
104m · 2 min walk
Harrods (Stop KA)
336m · 5 min walk
Sloane Street / Knightsbridge Station (Stop KK)
353m · 6 min walk
Knightsbridge Station / Harrods (Stop KC)
373m · 6 min walk
Knightsbridge Station (Stop KJ)
406m · 7 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

40%

Available places

396 pupils

990 capacity

594 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - London

Medium pressure
New homes approved:104,823
Projected new pupils:18,868

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for London

Admissions Demand - Kensington and Chelsea

Low demand0.60x oversubscription

Places available

1,045

Applications

622

Got 1st preference

66.7%

Got preferred school

92.3%

Secondary admissions across Kensington and Chelsea (2025/26)

Inspection History(12)

1 July 2025
5 July 2022
16 January 2018

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SEN Provision

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Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

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