The Hurst School
Brimpton Road, Baughurst, Tadley, RG26 5NL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jayne McLaren
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- North West Hampshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,080
- Pupils on roll
- 1,021
- URN
- 116422
- Local authority
- Hampshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01189817474
About this school
The Hurst School is a community secondary school in Tadley. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,021 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 16 October 2024, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 209 | 201 | 180 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.3 | 44.3 | 45.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.27 -0.47 to -0.08 | -0.37 -0.57 to -0.18 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 46% | 40.8% | 40.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 68% | 63.2% | 63.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 27% | 32.8% | 27.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
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 The Hurst School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Hampshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46.3 | 37.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.3 | 37.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.3 | 37.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,014 |
| 2023/24 | 1,014 |
| 2024/25 | 1,014 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Hurst School compares
The Hurst School ranked 34th of 67 secondary schools in Hampshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 58% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.3 | 7.4% | 15.6% | 1,021 | — |
| Kennet School | 46.5 | 9.2% | 17.1% | 1,824 | 4.4 miles |
| The Willink School | 51.9 | 8.1% | 13.8% | 1,205 | 5.2 miles |
| Everest Community Academy | 34.2 | 9.7% | 33.8% | 740 | 6.0 miles |
| The Clere School | 41.3 | 10.9% | 25.9% | 382 | 6.4 miles |
| Theale Green School | 38.5 | 10.4% | 25.6% | 803 | 6.6 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)
- 15.58%
- English as an additional language
- 4.8%
- Overall absence
- 7.4%
- Persistent absence
- 20.7%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Kennet School4.4 miles
Secondary · Thatcham
-
The Willink School5.2 miles
Secondary · Reading
-
Everest Community Academy6.0 miles
Secondary · Basingstoke
-
The Clere School6.4 miles
Secondary · Newbury
-
Theale Green School6.6 miles
Secondary · Reading
Other schools in Tadley
- Bishopswood Infant School Primary
- Bishopswood Junior School Primary
- Bramley Church of England Primary School Primary
- Burnham Copse Primary School Primary
- Tadley Community Primary School Primary
- The Priory Primary School Primary
- Tadley Court School Special schools
- Grantham Farm Montessori School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does The Hurst School teach?
- The Hurst School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Tadley.
- Who is the headteacher of The Hurst School?
- The headteacher of The Hurst School is Mrs Jayne McLaren, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Hurst School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Hurst School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is The Hurst School?
- The Hurst School has 1,021 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Hurst School full?
- The Hurst School has capacity for 1,080 pupils and 1,021 on roll (95%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Hurst School a faith school?
- No. The Hurst School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Hurst School a selective school?
- No. The Hurst School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have The Hurst School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.3 in 2022/23 and 45.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Hurst School rank locally?
- The Hurst School ranked 34th of 67 secondary schools in Hampshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 58% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Hurst School's absence rate?
- The Hurst School's overall absence rate is 7.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Hurst School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Hurst School'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 30 June 2026.