Rugby High School, Rugby

In its own words: "While striving for excellence for all, in all its forms, our aim as a school is to encourage our students to be ambitious and creative thinkers, to face challenges, to work together, to learn to apply and adapt their knowledge and understanding so that they are prepared and excited for the future, whatever it may bring."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, rugby, tennis, athletics, basketball, badminton, dance, drama and choir.

In 2026, pupils at Rugby High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 77.1, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 50 in Warwickshire and 47 across England.

100% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 52% in Warwickshire and 47% in England.

That is up from 74.9 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.66: 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 69.4, against 77.8 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 8.4 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Biology, Physics and Chemistry.

Rugby High School is a grammar school: places go to children who reach the required standard in its entrance test, and only then are the oversubscription criteria applied.

For September 2026 entry, 249 families put Rugby High School as their first choice and 405 named it as one of their preferences, for 150 places offered. That is 1.7 first choices for every place. 110 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

Rugby High School admits pupils through an entrance test, usually called the 11-plus. Children have to be registered for it in advance, normally in the spring or summer of Year 5; the test itself is usually sat in September of Year 6, and results come out in October, before the 31 October deadline for naming secondary schools.

Passing the test makes a child eligible rather than guaranteeing a place: when more children pass than there are places, Rugby High School ranks them by the criteria in its admissions policy, which can include test score and distance. Check Warwickshire's admissions pages and the school's own policy for this year's registration deadline - a child who is not registered in time cannot sit the test.

Warwickshire has 5 state grammar schools in all, so a child who passes may have several selective schools to choose between.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Rugby High School are Bilton School (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 39.3); Harris Church of England Academy (1 mile, Good, Attainment 8 41.8); Rugby Free Secondary School (1.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.5); and Lawrence Sheriff School (1.9 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 75.7).

Rugby High School's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

Of the 117 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 95% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 3% to a further education college and 1% into work.

Of the 181 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 72% went on to university or other higher education, 2% to apprenticeships and 15% into work. 53% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

8.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 39.3% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are Asian (37%), White British (36%) and Black (8%).

In 2026, 32 pupils (3.5%) received SEN support and 1 (0.1%) 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.

The nearest railway station is Rugby Rail Station, about 2.4 miles away in a straight line.

8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is High School for Girls (adjacent), 40 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Rugby High 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, Rugby High School issued 3 suspensions, 0.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Rugby High School are Bilton CofE Junior School (0.2 miles), Bawnmore Community Infant School (0.3 miles), Bilton Infant School (0.4 miles) and Cawston Grange Primary School (0.9 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.