Lady Hawkins' School, Kington
Lady Hawkins' School is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Kington. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in January 2018. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in October 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 10th-highest of the 15 schools in Herefordshire, County of with published results, and 1,879th of 3,298 across England. It was 44% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2018)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
- Progress (2024)
- Below average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Herefordshire, County of (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Lady Hawkins' School in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at Lady Hawkins' School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 44.7, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.3 in Herefordshire, County of; and 47 across England.
47% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 42% in Herefordshire, County of; and 47% in England.
That is up from 43.3 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.48: pupils made below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 15 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Geography, Food Preparation and Nutrition and History.
Getting a place at Lady Hawkins' School
For September 2026 entry, 44 families put Lady Hawkins' School as their first choice and 60 named it as one of their preferences, for 44 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
What parents say
56 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Lady Hawkins' School (as of September 2025): 77% would recommend the school, 80% say their child is happy there and 60% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (88%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (60%).
Where pupils go next
Of the 61 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 89% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 48% to a further education college, 2% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.
Who goes there
10.7% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 62 pupils (22.1%) received SEN support and 11 (3.9%) 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 a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Lady Hawkins' School.
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Park View (adjacent), 170 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Lady Hawkins' School issued 31 suspensions, 12.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 2 permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from January 2018, 8 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Lady Hawkins' is a unique and close-knit community school. Pupils value the school's strong family feel, which allows them to be themselves. Staff know pupils as individuals. Trusted adults celebrate each pupil's success and address any concerns that arise. As a result, pupils feel safe and happy.
The school has high expectations of what pupils can do, which pupils live up to. Their teachers teach them well. They check what pupils know and understand and offer pupils' constructive feedback to improve their written work. Pupils get to read widely and often. This helps them to remember more and learn new content, which pupils appreciate. As a result, most pupils achieve well.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
Since the last inspection, the school has focused on the right priorities, which has resulted in sustained improvement. For instance, leaders have taken decisive action to improve pupils' future prospects and examination outcomes. They have invested in strategies to help pupils remember more of what they learn. Subsequently, most pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), progress well.
Pupils follow an ambitious curriculum created to equip them well for the future. Staff have thought hard about the content pupils should learn. In each subject, this knowledge is laid out in a logical order so that new learning builds successfully on the things pupils have been taught before. Across subjects, staff share their curriculums to help pupils join their learning together. For example, in English, pupils deepen their insight of 'war poetry' by making links to their knowledge of conflicts in history.
From Ofsted's October 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its January 2018 inspection - up from Requires Improvement.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
About
Lady Hawkins' School is a 11-16 secondary school in Kington, Herefordshire. The headteacher is Allen Brace.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
17.8%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
56 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has declined from -0.33 to -0.48 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has improved from 40.0 to 44.7 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has improved from 39% to 47% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 44.7 | 46.8% |
| Disadvantaged(9) | - | 30.0 | 11.1% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(38) | - | 48.2 | 55.3% |
| Boys(15) | - | 38.2 | 46.7% |
| Girls(32) | - | 47.7 | 46.9% |
Show more breakdowns (1)
| Non mobile(45) | - | 45.7 | 48.9% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 61 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
2
Permanent exclusions
0.79%
Exclusion rate
31
Suspensions
12.25%
Suspension rate
12 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 253 pupils
2024/25 academic year
Keep up with Lady Hawkins' School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Lady Hawkins' School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Lady Hawkins' School is in Herefordshire, County of; for families living there:
- Herefordshire, County of's school travel policy: School transport policy
- How to apply: Apply for school transport
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 1
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 1 road collision in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 1 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Herefordshire, County of is 2 (the median across 115 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Lady Hawkins' School
Will you get a place at Lady Hawkins' School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Lady Hawkins' School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Lady Hawkins' School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Lady Hawkins' School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Herefordshire, County of, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Lady Hawkins' School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Herefordshire, County of got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
£9.99 once
One school, inc. VAT. Or £19.99 for up to three schools.
Pro £9 a month, every report included, cancel any time
A report for any school, plus everything else in Pro.
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
44%
Available places
255 pupils
579 places
324 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Kington
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Kington
Across Herefordshire, County of council
Places available
1,920
Applications
1,685
Got 1st preference
91.9%
Got preferred school
98.2%
All secondary applications across Herefordshire, County of council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(7)
Ungraded inspection: The school remains Good, but Ofsted raised concerns; its next inspection will be a full graded one.
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
62
SEN Support
11
EHC Plans
26.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
281
Total Pupils
133
Boys
148
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
15
Teachers
18.7:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£54,048
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,645
Per pupil
£2007k
Total funding
£47k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
8.3%
Overall absence
22.1%
Persistent absence
263
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Lady Hawkins' School
Questions parents ask about Lady Hawkins' School
What are GCSE results like at Lady Hawkins' School?
In the 2026 results, pupils at Lady Hawkins' School achieved an Attainment 8 score of 44.7. 47% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is Lady Hawkins' School's Ofsted rating?
Lady Hawkins' School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in October 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in January 2018, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Lady Hawkins' School?
No fixed boundary. When Lady Hawkins' School is oversubscribed, Herefordshire, County of allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Lady Hawkins' School?
Lady Hawkins' School was not full in 2025: it ran at 44% of its 579 places.
How big are the classes at Lady Hawkins' School?
Classes at Lady Hawkins' School average 20.2 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Lady Hawkins' School?
Lady Hawkins' School has around 281 pupils on roll. 18% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Lady Hawkins' School?
8.3% of sessions were missed at Lady Hawkins' School in 2024/25. 22.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Lady Hawkins' School?
Apply through Herefordshire, County of's coordinated admissions process, naming Lady Hawkins' School on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Lady Hawkins' School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 1 road collision in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 1 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Herefordshire, County of is 2 (the median across 115 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Lady Hawkins' School?
Lady Hawkins' School is at Park View, Kington, Herefordshire, HR5 3AR.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)