The Highcrest Academy
Hatters Lane, High Wycombe, HP13 7NQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE HIGHCREST ACADEMY
- Principal
- Mr Glen Burke
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Wycombe
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,069
- Pupils on roll
- 1,045
- URN
- 136858
- Local authority
- Buckinghamshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01494529866
About this school
The Highcrest Academy is a secondary academy in High Wycombe. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,045 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 11 December 2024, where inspectors found some aspects are not as strong as at the previous inspection. 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 | 175 | 182 | 176 |
| Attainment 8 score | 37.3 | 39.9 | 38.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.31 -0.52 to -0.10 | -0.39 -0.60 to -0.18 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 28% | 38.5% | 27.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 53% | 54.4% | 53.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 23% | 25.8% | 25% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
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 Highcrest Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Buckinghamshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 37.3 | 47.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 39.9 | 49.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 38.5 | 46.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,059 |
| 2023/24 | 1,068 |
| 2024/25 | 1,072 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Highcrest Academy compares
The Highcrest Academy ranked 33rd of 36 secondary schools in Buckinghamshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 34% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 38.5 | 9.9% | 35.6% | 1,045 | — |
| The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe | 73.9 | 6.1% | 5.7% | 1,451 | 1.0 miles |
| Sir William Ramsay School | 35.4 | 11.6% | 33.8% | 984 | 1.4 miles |
| Wycombe High School | 73.9 | 5.5% | 8% | 1,371 | 1.7 miles |
| John Hampden Grammar School | 72.3 | 5.7% | 4.7% | 1,281 | 1.9 miles |
| Cressex Community School | 50.7 | 7.5% | 29.3% | 766 | 2.7 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)
- 35.59%
- English as an additional language
- 26%
- Overall absence
- 9.88%
- Persistent absence
- 27.11%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe1.0 miles
Secondary · High Wycombe
-
Sir William Ramsay School1.4 miles
Secondary · High Wycombe
-
Wycombe High School1.7 miles
Secondary · High Wycombe
-
John Hampden Grammar School1.9 miles
Secondary · High Wycombe
-
Cressex Community School2.7 miles
Secondary · High Wycombe
Other schools in High Wycombe
The Highcrest Academy ranks 7th of the 8 ranked secondary schools in High Wycombe.
- Cressex Community School Secondary
- Holmer Green Senior School Secondary
- John Hampden Grammar School Secondary
- Sir William Ramsay School Secondary
- The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe Secondary
- Wycombe High School Secondary
- Bowerdean Nursery School Nursery
- Abbey View Primary Academy Primary
- Ash Hill Primary School Primary
- Ash Hill Primary School Primary
- Beechview Academy Primary
- Bledlow Ridge School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Highcrest Academy teach?
- The Highcrest Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in High Wycombe.
- Who is the principal of The Highcrest Academy?
- The principal of The Highcrest Academy is Mr Glen Burke, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Highcrest Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Highcrest Academy, 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 Highcrest Academy?
- The Highcrest Academy has 1,045 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Highcrest Academy full?
- The Highcrest Academy has capacity for 1,069 pupils and 1,045 on roll (98%), 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 Highcrest Academy a faith school?
- No. The Highcrest Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is The Highcrest Academy a selective school?
- No. The Highcrest Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Highcrest Academy?
- The Highcrest Academy is part of THE HIGHCREST ACADEMY. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Highcrest Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 37.3 in 2022/23 and 38.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Highcrest Academy rank locally?
- The Highcrest Academy ranked 33rd of 36 secondary schools in Buckinghamshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 34% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% 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 Highcrest Academy's absence rate?
- The Highcrest Academy's overall absence rate is 9.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Highcrest Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Highcrest Academy'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.