Hitchin Boys' School
Secondary · Academy converter · Boys · Hertfordshire
Grammar School Walk, Hitchin, SG5 1JB
80
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
School remains Outstanding
No graded inspection
Application demand
76%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
95.6%
9.2% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,364
Capacity used
Nearly full97%
1,400 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
76%
1st preference success rate
200 of 263 families who put it first got an offer
201
Places offered
481
Total applications
2.4
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 263 | 200 | ● 76% |
| 2nd preference | 128 | 0 | ● 0% |
| 3rd preference | 48 | 0 | ● 0% |
| 4th preference | 42 | 1 | ● 2% |
| Total | 481 | 201 | 42% |
1st preference success by year
Hertfordshire lets families list 4 preferences. 8 applications came from outside the council area (0 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Last distance offered
From Hertfordshire council's allocation report on offer day. It changes every year, so treat it as a guide.
September 2026 entry
7.47 km
Furthest child offered under "In Priority Area, Not Nearest School"
407 applications · 210 places · 210 offered
| Children Looked After Or Previously Looked After | 2 |
| Medical/Social | 1 |
| Siblings In The Priority Area | 55 |
| Children of Staff | 4 |
| In Priority Area, Nearest School | 93 |
| In Priority Area, Not Nearest School | 48 |
September 2025 entry
2.87 km
Furthest child offered under "In Priority Area, Not Nearest School"
507 applications · 210 places · 210 offered
| Children Looked After Or Previously Looked After | 2 |
| Medical/Social | 1 |
| Siblings In The Priority Area | 39 |
| Children of Staff | 2 |
| In Priority Area, Nearest School | 118 |
| In Priority Area, Not Nearest School | 40 |
Currently available for Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Enfield schools, from council allocation reports. Distances are straight-line from home to school.
Details
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Boys
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Timothy Bennett
- Address
- Grammar School Walk, Hitchin, SG5 1JB
- Phone
- 01462432181
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Ward / constituency
- Hitchin Priory · Hitchin
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 139154
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 9% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 10% | — | — |
| SEN support | 17% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 1 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: HITCHIN BOYS' SCHOOL
1,364 pupils · 1,400 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 25
25 November 2025
S5 Inspection · report card
Inclusion Exceptional Achievement Strong standard Safeguarding standards Met Curriculum and teaching Strong standard Attendance and behaviour Exceptional Leadership and governance Exceptional Early years Not applicable Personal development and wellbeing Exceptional Post-16 provision Strong standard - 21
22 September 2021
Ungraded inspection
School remains Outstanding
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,061 pupils
Attendance
95.6%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
4.4%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
9.2%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
0.7%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
0.6%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 56.3 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.57 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 65% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 89% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 5.52 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
A-level results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 34.10 | — | — |
Average grade: C+ (England B-)
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 57.1 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 66.7% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 87.1% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 82.9% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 5.5 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 210 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
A-level results over time
Average points per entry by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 37.31 | 35 |
| Average grade | B- | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 34.2% | 17% |
| A-level students | 139 | — |
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 210 | 24% | 62% | 82% | |
| Mathematics | 209 | 41% | 75% | 92% | |
| English Literature | 207 | 29% | 74% | 88% | |
| History | 126 | 33% | 58% | 70% | |
| Business | 115 | 22% | 59% | 83% | |
| Combined Science | 110 | 5% | 52% | 77% | |
| Geography | 102 | 50% | 77% | 89% | |
| Biology | 99 | 53% | 98% | 99% | |
| Physics | 98 | 64% | 99% | 100% | |
| Chemistry | 98 | 49% | 95% | 100% | |
| French | 92 | 28% | 64% | 76% | |
| Spanish | 59 | 32% | 64% | 90% |
A level
| Subject | Entries | A* | A*–A | A*–B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 51 | 24% | 55% | 78% | |
| Economics | 37 | 16% | 35% | 59% | |
| Biology | 35 | 17% | 46% | 63% | |
| Physics | 35 | 34% | 54% | 77% | |
| Geography | 33 | 15% | 36% | 70% | |
| Chemistry | 30 | 17% | 57% | 73% | |
| Psychology | 26 | 0% | 8% | 38% | |
| Business Studies | 16 | 0% | 0% | 25% | |
| Design and Technology (Product Design) | 15 | 0% | 13% | 20% | |
| Sociology | 14 | 0% | 7% | 29% | |
| Mathematics (Further) | 14 | 43% | 64% | 93% | |
| Media / Film / TV Studies | 14 | 0% | 7% | 21% |
Oxbridge
Cambridge offers by year
Ranked #160 of 1,018 UK schools with Cambridge offers2
UCAS apply centre 11133: Hitchin Boys' School
| Cambridge admissions1 | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Applications | 9 |
| Offers | ≤5 |
| Success rate | — |
| Accepted offers | ≤5 |
1 Source: University of Cambridge, applications, offers and acceptances by UCAS apply centre. To protect privacy small counts are hidden: "<3" means 0–2 (up to 2023); "≤5" means 1–5 (from 2024). Success rate is only shown when exact numbers are published (England average is about 20%).
2 Schools ranked by number of offers; this doesn't account for school size. Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures, so they aren't shown.
Where students go next
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higher education (university) | 62% | — | — |
| Apprenticeships | 7% | — | — |
| Any education or training | 63% | — | — |
Oxford/Cambridge application numbers aren't published per school in official data, so university progression is shown instead.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 5 km — based on the last distance offered, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Hertfordshire council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.