Heathcote School & Science College
Normanton Park, Chingford, London, E4 6ES
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Ms Sonia Close
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment
- Constituency
- Chingford and Woodford Green
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,260
- Pupils on roll
- 1,115
- URN
- 103097
- Local authority
- Waltham Forest
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02084985110
About this school
Heathcote School & Science College is a community secondary school in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,115 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Heathcote School & Science College, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 29 February 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 183 | 194 | 162 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.1 | 43.4 | 46.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.26 -0.47 to -0.05 | -0.37 -0.58 to -0.16 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 43% | 38.7% | 44.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 64% | 59.8% | 61.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 59% | 52.6% | 38.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.1 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Heathcote School & Science College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Waltham Forest average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44.1 | 40.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43.4 | 39.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.1 | 39.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,098 |
| 2023/24 | 1,117 |
| 2024/25 | 1,116 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Heathcote School & Science College compares
Heathcote School & Science College ranked 12th of 17 secondary schools in Waltham Forest for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 62% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.1 | 7.7% | 31.7% | 1,115 | — |
| Trinity Catholic High School | 56.3 | 7% | 14.1% | 1,603 | 0.8 miles |
| Chingford Foundation School | 47.1 | 7.7% | 27.4% | 1,363 | 0.9 miles |
| Highams Park School | 47.5 | 8.1% | 26.2% | 1,592 | 1.3 miles |
| Woodford County High School | 80.1 | 4.9% | 12.4% | 1,237 | 1.3 miles |
| South Chingford Foundation School | 32.8 | 13.4% | 41.7% | 547 | 1.8 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 31.72%
- English as an additional language
- 33.3%
- Overall absence
- 7.66%
- Persistent absence
- 23.73%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Trinity Catholic High School0.8 miles
Secondary · Woodford Green
-
Chingford Foundation School0.9 miles
Secondary · London
-
Highams Park School1.3 miles
Secondary · London
-
Woodford County High School1.3 miles
Secondary · Woodford Green
-
South Chingford Foundation School1.8 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
Heathcote School & Science College ranks 178th of the 258 ranked secondary schools in London.
- Acland Burghley School Secondary
- Ada Lovelace Church of England High School Secondary
- Addey and Stanhope School Secondary
- AIM Academy North London Secondary
- Alexandra Park School Secondary
- All Saints Catholic College Secondary
- All Saints Catholic High School Secondary
- Ark Acton Academy Secondary
- Ark All Saints Academy Secondary
- Ark Bolingbroke Academy Secondary
- Ark Burlington Danes Academy Secondary
- Ark Elvin Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Heathcote School & Science College teach?
- Heathcote School & Science College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of Heathcote School & Science College?
- The headteacher of Heathcote School & Science College is Ms Sonia Close, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Heathcote School & Science College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Heathcote School & Science College, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Heathcote School & Science College?
- Heathcote School & Science College has 1,115 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Heathcote School & Science College full?
- Heathcote School & Science College has capacity for 1,260 pupils and 1,115 on roll (88%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Heathcote School & Science College a faith school?
- No. Heathcote School & Science College has no designated religious character.
- Is Heathcote School & Science College a selective school?
- No. Heathcote School & Science College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- What SEN provision does Heathcote School & Science College have?
- The schools register lists Heathcote School & Science College's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Heathcote School & Science College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.1 in 2022/23 and 46.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Heathcote School & Science College compare with other schools in Waltham Forest?
- Heathcote School & Science College ranked 12th of 17 secondary schools in Waltham Forest for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 62% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Heathcote School & Science College's absence rate?
- Heathcote School & Science College's overall absence rate is 7.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Heathcote School & Science College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Heathcote School & Science College's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.