The Hermitage Infant School, Woking
The Hermitage Infant School is a primary school for pupils aged 2 to 7 in Woking, part of The Swan Trust. It was rated Requires improvement at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in October 2022. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in March 2025 did not change this grade. It was 77% full in 2025.
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement (2022)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Surrey (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
The Hermitage Infant School in detail
Getting a place at The Hermitage Infant School
For September 2026 entry, 48 families put The Hermitage Infant School as their first choice and 129 named it as one of their preferences, for 54 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at The Hermitage Infant School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to The Hermitage Infant School are The Hermitage Junior School (under 0.1 miles, Good, 77% reading, 72% maths); St Hugh of Lincoln Catholic Primary School (0.2 miles, Outstanding, 93% reading, 97% maths); St John's Primary School (0.4 miles, Good, 68% reading, 79% maths); and Knaphill Infant School and Nursery (0.8 miles, Good).
The Hermitage Junior SchoolSt Hugh of Lincoln Catholic Primary SchoolSt John's Primary SchoolKnaphill Infant School and Nursery
The trust
The Hermitage Infant School is one of 10 schools run by The Swan Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's primary schools, 65% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.
What parents say
57 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about The Hermitage Infant School (as of September 2025): 95% would recommend the school, 97% say their child is happy there and 88% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (97%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (88%).
Who goes there
16.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.
Staffing
The Hermitage Infant School had 8 teachers in 2026, one for every 26 pupils: fewer teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Brookwood Rail Station, about 1.3 miles away in a straight line.
13 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Sutton Avenue (before), 70 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood The Hermitage Infant School stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 152 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and public order offences. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Surrey (76), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
The Hermitage Infant School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to The Hermitage Infant School are The Winston Churchill School A Specialist Sports College (0.3 miles) and Hoe Valley School (1.7 miles).
The Winston Churchill School A Specialist Sports CollegeHoe Valley School
Sources: DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; 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 agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's March 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
This school provides a warm, inclusive environment where all children thrive and behave well. Early years provision is outstanding, and reading is taught expertly with regular checks to spot any children who need extra help. The school also enriches learning through visits to museums and castles, teaching children about different cultures and keeping them safe both at school and online.
Key Strengths
- Outstanding early years provision where children receive an exceptional start, with strong focus on communication and language skills
- Excellent phonics teaching and reading support from Reception onwards, with pupils regularly assessed and given swift additional help when needed
- Strong inclusive approach with high ambitions for all pupils including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils
- Calm, warm school atmosphere where pupils behave well and have a strong sense of right and wrong
- Excellent personal development programme including visits to places of worship, charity work, and teaching about staying safe online
Areas for Improvement
- In some subjects, teachers do not check pupils' understanding of previously taught knowledge carefully enough, leaving gaps that go unaddressed
- A small number of subjects lack clear identification of the most important knowledge to teach and in what order, making it unclear for staff what to teach and when
- Knowledge sequences in a few subjects are not detailed precisely enough
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with staff well-trained to help pupils recognise and reflect on their feelings and well-being.
Extracurricular Activities
Dance club, football club, visits to local museums and castles, charity fundraising, friendship friends programme, well-being ambassadors
The Hermitage Infant School is a good school with an outstanding early years provision. It has improved significantly from its previous 'requires improvement' rating and is committed to serving all pupils with a strong inclusive ethos.
At a Glance
16.2%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
57 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Class Sizes
24.8
Avg class size
28.0
Infant (KS1)
9
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with The Hermitage Infant School
Term dates
The Hermitage Infant School is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Surrey's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to The Hermitage Infant School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. The Hermitage Infant School is in Surrey; for families living there:
- Surrey's school travel policy: Travel Assistance Policy for under 16s
- How to apply: Apply online for under 16 travel help
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 13
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 2
- Children hurt
- 3
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 13 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 11 slight.
3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
8 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 Surrey is 13 (the median across 521 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 The Hermitage Infant School
Will you get a place at The Hermitage Infant School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against The Hermitage Infant School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for The Hermitage Infant School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to The Hermitage Infant School.
- Surrey publishes last distance offered figures, but none for The Hermitage Infant School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at The Hermitage Infant School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Surrey 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.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
77%
Available places
208 pupils
270 places
62 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Woking
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Woking
Across Surrey council
Places available
13,004
Applications
11,426
Got 1st preference
89.8%
Got preferred school
98.7%
All primary applications across Surrey council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
32
SEN Support
10
EHC Plans
17.9%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
234
Total Pupils
111
Boys
123
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
8
Teachers
29.3:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,102
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,414
Per pupil
£1280k
Total funding
£50k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.2%
Overall absence
5.1%
Persistent absence
156
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
The Hermitage Infant School
Questions parents ask about The Hermitage Infant School
What is The Hermitage Infant School's Ofsted rating?
The Hermitage Infant School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in October 2022, it was rated Requires Improvement.
What is the catchment area for The Hermitage Infant School?
No fixed boundary. When The Hermitage Infant School is oversubscribed, Surrey allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at The Hermitage Infant School?
The Hermitage Infant School was not full in 2025: it ran at 77% of its 270 places.
How big are the classes at The Hermitage Infant School?
Classes at The Hermitage Infant School average 24.8 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to The Hermitage Infant School?
The Hermitage Infant School has around 234 pupils on roll. 16% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at The Hermitage Infant School?
4.2% of sessions were missed at The Hermitage Infant School in 2024/25. 5.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to The Hermitage Infant School?
Apply through Surrey's coordinated admissions process, naming The Hermitage Infant School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
How many road collisions happen near The Hermitage Infant School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 13 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 11 slight. 3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 8 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 Surrey is 13 (the median across 521 schools, same distance and years).
Where is The Hermitage Infant School?
The Hermitage Infant School is at Gorsewood Road, St John's, Woking, Surrey, GU21 8WT.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)