Hinchley Wood School, Esher

From the headteacher's welcome: "33 students from HWS have had their poems selected for publication in the official competition book of the national poetry competition, 'I Have a Dream'. The overall winners are yet to be announced and the book of successful entries will be published in March 2026."

Coming up: an open day on Tuesday 10 November 2026 at 9.45am. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Hinchley Wood School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 63, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 50.8 in Surrey and 47 across England.

72% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 54% in Surrey and 47% in England.

That is down from 64.5 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.68: pupils made well above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 44.9, against 64.7 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 19.8 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 300 families put Hinchley Wood School as their first choice and 675 named it as one of their preferences, for 203 places offered. That is 1.5 first choices for every place. 102 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Hinchley Wood School are Southborough High School (1.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 47.2); Tolworth Girls' School and Sixth Form (1.6 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 55); Esher Church of England High School (1.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 50); and Chessington School (1.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 42.3).

Hinchley Wood School's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

Hinchley Wood School is one of 3 schools run by Hinchley Wood Learning Partnership, an academy trust.

Of the 216 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 94% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 14% to a further education college, 1% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 116 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 64% went on to university or other higher education, 2% to apprenticeships and 13% into work. 51% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

5.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 7.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (73%) and Mixed (10%).

In 2026, 135 pupils (9.5%) received SEN support and 78 (5.5%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is autism.

Hinchley Wood School has a SEN unit for autism: 20 places, 20 pupils on roll.

The nearest railway station is Hinchley Wood Rail Station, about 720 metres away (roughly a 9-minute walk).

4 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Hinchley Wood School (outside), 100 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Hinchley Wood School stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In 2024/25, Hinchley Wood School issued 71 suspensions, 5.1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

The primary schools closest to Hinchley Wood School are Hinchley Wood Primary School (under 0.1 miles), Long Ditton St Mary's CofE (Aided) Junior School (0.6 miles), Thames Ditton Junior School (0.6 miles) and Long Ditton Infant and Nursery School (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.