Chiltern Hills Academy
Chartridge Lane, Chesham, HP5 2RG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- OXFORD DIOCESAN BUCKS SCHOOLS TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Timothy Dobbs
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Diocese
- Diocese of Oxford
- Sponsor
- Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust
- Constituency
- Chesham and Amersham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,350
- Pupils on roll
- 1,047
- URN
- 137280
- Local authority
- Buckinghamshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01494782066
About this school
Chiltern Hills Academy is a Church of England secondary academy in Chesham. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,047 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 22 September 2022, 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 | 186 | 183 | 172 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.4 | 37.6 | 40.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.26 -0.47 to -0.05 | -0.45 -0.66 to -0.23 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 39% | 20.8% | 30.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 62% | 48.6% | 49.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 32% | 41% | 20.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
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 Chiltern Hills 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 | 43.4 | 47.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 37.6 | 49.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 40.3 | 46.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,107 |
| 2023/24 | 1,076 |
| 2024/25 | 1,073 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Chiltern Hills Academy compares
Chiltern Hills Academy ranked 27th of 36 secondary schools in Buckinghamshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 40.3 | 10.5% | 22.4% | 1,047 | — |
| Chesham Grammar School | 74 | 5.7% | 2.1% | 1,331 | 1.0 miles |
| Dr Challoner's Grammar School | 73.9 | 5.2% | 2.7% | 1,384 | 2.3 miles |
| Amersham School | 49.7 | 8.4% | 13.8% | 1,050 | 3.1 miles |
| The Misbourne School | 50.8 | 9.3% | 12.7% | 1,115 | 3.6 miles |
| Dr Challoner's High School | 79.1 | 5.5% | 2.9% | 1,391 | 3.7 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)
- 22.38%
- English as an additional language
- 20.8%
- Overall absence
- 10.48%
- Persistent absence
- 28.21%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Chesham Grammar School1.0 miles
Secondary · Chesham
-
Dr Challoner's Grammar School2.3 miles
Secondary · Amersham
-
Amersham School3.1 miles
Secondary · Amersham
-
The Misbourne School3.6 miles
Secondary · Great Missenden
-
Dr Challoner's High School3.7 miles
Secondary · Amersham
Other schools in Chesham
- Chesham Grammar School Secondary
- Brushwood Junior School Primary
- Chartridge Combined School Primary
- Elmtree Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School Primary
- Ivingswood Academy Primary
- Ley Hill School Primary
- Newtown School Primary
- Thomas Harding Junior School Primary
- Waterside Primary Academy Primary
- Heritage House School Special schools
- Chesham Preparatory School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Chiltern Hills Academy teach?
- Chiltern Hills Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Chesham.
- Who is the principal of Chiltern Hills Academy?
- The principal of Chiltern Hills Academy is Mr Timothy Dobbs, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Chiltern Hills Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Chiltern Hills 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 Chiltern Hills Academy?
- Chiltern Hills Academy has 1,047 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Chiltern Hills Academy full?
- Chiltern Hills Academy has capacity for 1,350 pupils and 1,047 on roll (78%), 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 Chiltern Hills Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Chiltern Hills Academy is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Oxford.
- Is Chiltern Hills Academy a selective school?
- No. Chiltern Hills Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Chiltern Hills Academy?
- Chiltern Hills Academy is part of OXFORD DIOCESAN BUCKS SCHOOLS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Chiltern Hills Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.4 in 2022/23 and 40.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Chiltern Hills Academy rank locally?
- Chiltern Hills Academy ranked 27th of 36 secondary schools in Buckinghamshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Chiltern Hills Academy's absence rate?
- Chiltern Hills Academy's overall absence rate is 10.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Chiltern Hills Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Chiltern Hills 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.