Hardenhuish School
Hardenhuish Lane, Chippenham, SN14 6RJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- HARDENHUISH SCHOOL LIMITED
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lisa Percy
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- Not Applicable
- Constituency
- Chippenham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,678
- Pupils on roll
- 1,519
- URN
- 136296
- Local authority
- Wiltshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01249650693
About this school
Hardenhuish School is a secondary academy in Chippenham. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,519 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 1 November 2023, 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 | 246 | 239 | 263 |
| Attainment 8 score | 51.2 | 52.1 | 47.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.20 +0.02 to +0.38 | +0.14 -0.04 to +0.32 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 52% | 54% | 42.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 73% | 77.8% | 66.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 34% | 30.5% | 25.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.5 | 4.6 | 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 Hardenhuish 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 | Wiltshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 51.2 | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 52.1 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47.5 | 36.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,531 |
| 2023/24 | 1,536 |
| 2024/25 | 1,559 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Hardenhuish School compares
Hardenhuish School ranked 11th of 26 secondary schools in Wiltshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 67% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47.5 | 8.2% | 15.1% | 1,519 | — |
| Sheldon School | 45.2 | 10.5% | 19.3% | 1,467 | 0.3 miles |
| Abbeyfield School | — | — | — | 902 | 2.1 miles |
| The Corsham School | 47.5 | 9.2% | 18.3% | 1,427 | 3.8 miles |
| Kingsbury Green Academy | 39.6 | 10.4% | 25% | 1,077 | 6.3 miles |
| Melksham Oak Community School | 41.4 | 11% | 23.8% | 1,058 | 7.6 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)
- 15.07%
- English as an additional language
- 4.3%
- Overall absence
- 8.24%
- Persistent absence
- 19.54%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sheldon School0.3 miles
Secondary · Chippenham
-
Abbeyfield School2.1 miles
Secondary · Chippenham
-
The Corsham School3.8 miles
Secondary · Corsham
-
Kingsbury Green Academy6.3 miles
Secondary · Calne
-
Melksham Oak Community School7.6 miles
Secondary · Melksham
Other schools in Chippenham
- Abbeyfield School Secondary
- Sheldon School Secondary
- Brinkworth Earl Danby's Church of England Primary Primary
- By Brook Valley CofE Primary School Primary
- Charter Primary School Primary
- Christian Malford CofE Primary School Primary
- Colerne CofE Primary School Primary
- Frogwell Primary School Primary
- Hullavington CofE Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Ivy Lane Primary School Primary
- Kings Lodge Primary School Primary
- Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Hardenhuish School teach?
- Hardenhuish School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Chippenham.
- Who is the headteacher of Hardenhuish School?
- The headteacher of Hardenhuish School is Mrs Lisa Percy, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Hardenhuish School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Hardenhuish 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 Hardenhuish School?
- Hardenhuish School has 1,519 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Hardenhuish School full?
- Hardenhuish School has capacity for 1,678 pupils and 1,519 on roll (91%), 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 Hardenhuish School a faith school?
- No. Hardenhuish School has no designated religious character.
- Is Hardenhuish School a selective school?
- No. Hardenhuish School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Hardenhuish School?
- Hardenhuish School is part of HARDENHUISH SCHOOL LIMITED. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Hardenhuish School have?
- The schools register lists Hardenhuish School's special educational needs provision as: Not Applicable. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Hardenhuish School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 51.2 in 2022/23 and 47.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Hardenhuish School rank locally?
- Hardenhuish School ranked 11th of 26 secondary schools in Wiltshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 67% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Hardenhuish School's absence rate?
- Hardenhuish School's overall absence rate is 8.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Hardenhuish School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Hardenhuish 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 1 July 2026.