Challney High School for Boys
Stoneygate Road, Luton, LU4 9TJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- CHILTERN LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Mark Mailer
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Chiltern Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Luton North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,212
- Pupils on roll
- 1,197
- URN
- 136651
- Local authority
- Luton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01582599921
About this school
Challney High School for Boys is a boys' secondary academy in Luton. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,197 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 234 | 241 | 229 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.7 | 48.7 | 47.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.39 +0.20 to +0.57 | +0.56 +0.37 to +0.74 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 54% | 52.7% | 53.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 67% | 67.2% | 67.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 41% | 39.4% | 42.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.2 |
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 Challney High School for Boys has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Luton average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46.7 | 41.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.7 | 42.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47.7 | 43.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,180 |
| 2023/24 | 1,199 |
| 2024/25 | 1,201 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Challney High School for Boys compares
Challney High School for Boys ranked 7th of 13 secondary schools in Luton for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 68% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47.7 | 7% | 28.4% | 1,197 | — |
| Challney High School for Girls | 50.1 | 6.3% | 30.3% | 1,062 | 0.2 miles |
| The Chalk Hills Academy | 45.7 | 8.7% | 35.1% | 1,644 | 0.9 miles |
| Lealands High School | 44.3 | 6.8% | 35% | 1,025 | 1.7 miles |
| Denbigh High School | 52.6 | 5.9% | 31.3% | 1,130 | 1.8 miles |
| Lea Manor High School | 36.3 | 9.5% | 43.7% | 916 | 1.9 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)
- 28.39%
- English as an additional language
- 54.6%
- Overall absence
- 7.01%
- Persistent absence
- 20.54%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Challney High School for Girls0.2 miles
Secondary · Luton
-
The Chalk Hills Academy0.9 miles
Secondary · Luton
-
Lealands High School1.7 miles
Secondary · Luton
-
Denbigh High School1.8 miles
Secondary · Luton
-
Lea Manor High School1.9 miles
Secondary · Luton
Other schools in Luton
Challney High School for Boys ranks 7th of the 14 ranked secondary schools in Luton.
- Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College Secondary
- Challney High School for Girls Secondary
- Chiltern Academy Secondary
- Denbigh High School Secondary
- Icknield High School Secondary
- Lea Manor High School Secondary
- Lealands High School Secondary
- Manshead Church of England Academy Secondary
- Putteridge High School Secondary
- Queen Elizabeth School Secondary
- Stopsley High School Secondary
- The Chalk Hills Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Challney High School for Boys teach?
- Challney High School for Boys teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Luton.
- Who is the headteacher of Challney High School for Boys?
- The headteacher of Challney High School for Boys is Mr Mark Mailer, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Challney High School for Boys last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Challney High School for Boys, 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 Challney High School for Boys?
- Challney High School for Boys has 1,197 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Challney High School for Boys full?
- Challney High School for Boys has capacity for 1,212 pupils and 1,197 on roll (99%), 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 Challney High School for Boys a faith school?
- No. Challney High School for Boys has no designated religious character.
- Is Challney High School for Boys a selective school?
- No. Challney High School for Boys is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Challney High School for Boys?
- Challney High School for Boys is part of CHILTERN LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Challney High School for Boys's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.7 in 2022/23 and 47.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Challney High School for Boys rank locally?
- Challney High School for Boys ranked 7th of 13 secondary schools in Luton for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 68% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Challney High School for Boys's absence rate?
- Challney High School for Boys's overall absence rate is 7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Challney High School for Boys's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Challney High School for Boys'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.