West Hatch High School
High Road, Chigwell, IG7 5BT
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- WEST HATCH HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Victoria Schaefer
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Epping Forest
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,523
- Pupils on roll
- 1,573
- URN
- 136758
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02085048216
About this school
West Hatch High School is a secondary academy in Chigwell. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,573 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 29 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 | 241 | 247 | 248 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.0 | 49.9 | 49.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.07 -0.11 to +0.25 | +0.24 +0.06 to +0.42 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 47% | 59.1% | 50.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 71% | 75.7% | 76.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 24% | 31.2% | 10.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 4.3 | 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 West Hatch High 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 | Essex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47 | 43.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.9 | 41.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.5 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,439 |
| 2023/24 | 1,505 |
| 2024/25 | 1,564 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How West Hatch High School compares
West Hatch High School ranked 18th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 74% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49.5 | 7.2% | 20.6% | 1,573 | — |
| Caterham High School | 44.3 | 10.6% | 40.3% | 953 | 1.3 miles |
| Woodbridge High School | 52.2 | 5.1% | 20.7% | 1,980 | 1.5 miles |
| Ilford County High School | 75.7 | 5.5% | 12.2% | 1,115 | 1.5 miles |
| King Solomon High School | 46.8 | 9.9% | 24.5% | 636 | 1.7 miles |
| Trinity Catholic High School | 56.3 | 7% | 14.1% | 1,603 | 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)
- 20.61%
- English as an additional language
- 13.6%
- Overall absence
- 7.23%
- Persistent absence
- 20.1%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Caterham High School1.3 miles
Secondary · Ilford
-
Woodbridge High School1.5 miles
Secondary · Woodford Green
-
Ilford County High School1.5 miles
Secondary · Ilford
-
King Solomon High School1.7 miles
Secondary · Ilford
-
Trinity Catholic High School1.8 miles
Secondary · Woodford Green
Other schools in Chigwell
- Chigwell Primary Academy Primary
- Chigwell Row Infant School Primary
- Coppice Primary School Primary
- Limes Farm Infant School and Nursery Primary
- Limes Farm Junior School Primary
- Manford Primary School Primary
- Wells Park School Academies
- Chigwell School Independent schools
- Early Years Assessment Service and Centre Co Manford Primary School Other types
Common questions
- What year groups does West Hatch High School teach?
- West Hatch High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Chigwell.
- Who is the headteacher of West Hatch High School?
- The headteacher of West Hatch High School is Mrs Victoria Schaefer, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was West Hatch High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected West Hatch High 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 West Hatch High School?
- West Hatch High School has 1,573 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is West Hatch High School full?
- West Hatch High School has capacity for 1,523 pupils and 1,573 on roll (103%), so it is at or above 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 West Hatch High School a faith school?
- No. West Hatch High School has no designated religious character.
- Is West Hatch High School a selective school?
- No. West Hatch High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs West Hatch High School?
- West Hatch High School is part of WEST HATCH HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have West Hatch High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47 in 2022/23 and 49.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does West Hatch High School rank locally?
- West Hatch High School ranked 18th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 74% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is West Hatch High School's absence rate?
- West Hatch High School's overall absence rate is 7.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are West Hatch High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, West Hatch High 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.