The Holy Cross School
25 Sandal Road, New Malden, KT3 5AR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Girls
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE HOLY CROSS SCHOOL
- Acting Headteacher
- Mrs Dervla McConn-Finch
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Southwark
- Constituency
- Wimbledon
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 827
- Pupils on roll
- 994
- URN
- 138459
- Local authority
- Kingston upon Thames
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02083954225
About this school
The Holy Cross School is a Roman Catholic girls' secondary academy in New Malden. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 994 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Holy Cross School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 151 | 148 | 155 |
| Attainment 8 score | 61.9 | 58.6 | 59.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +1.03 +0.80 to +1.26 | +0.95 +0.71 to +1.19 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 77% | 70.3% | 74.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 91% | 89.9% | 89.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 75% | 74.3% | 77.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.6 | 5.3 | 5.4 |
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 The Holy Cross 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 | Kingston upon Thames average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 61.9 | 51.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 58.6 | 50 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 59.2 | 50.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 977 |
| 2023/24 | 969 |
| 2024/25 | 988 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Holy Cross School compares
The Holy Cross School ranked 5th of 11 secondary schools in Kingston upon Thames for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 92% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 59.2 | 5.6% | 11.9% | 994 | — |
| Coombe Boys' School | 54.8 | 6.9% | 17.1% | 1,007 | 0.7 miles |
| Coombe Girls' School | 55.3 | 9% | 22.4% | 1,500 | 0.9 miles |
| Richard Challoner School | 59.4 | 4.6% | 10.3% | 1,079 | 0.9 miles |
| Raynes Park High School | 45.3 | 8.7% | 44.3% | 1,134 | 1.0 miles |
| The Hollyfield School and Sixth Form Centre | 53.8 | 6.6% | 24.6% | 1,212 | 1.6 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)
- 11.89%
- English as an additional language
- 26.1%
- Overall absence
- 5.61%
- Persistent absence
- 14.21%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Coombe Boys' School0.7 miles
Secondary · New Malden
-
Coombe Girls' School0.9 miles
Secondary · New Malden
-
Richard Challoner School0.9 miles
Secondary · New Malden
-
Raynes Park High School1.0 miles
Secondary · London
-
The Hollyfield School and Sixth Form Centre1.6 miles
Secondary · Surbiton
Other schools in New Malden
- Coombe Boys' School Secondary
- Coombe Girls' School Secondary
- Richard Challoner School Secondary
- Burlington Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Burlington Junior School Primary
- Christ Church New Malden CofE Primary School Primary
- Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School Primary
- King's Oak Primary School Primary
- Malden Manor Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Primary
- Westbury House School Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does The Holy Cross School teach?
- The Holy Cross School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in New Malden.
- Who is the acting headteacher of The Holy Cross School?
- The acting headteacher of The Holy Cross School is Mrs Dervla McConn-Finch, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Holy Cross School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Holy Cross 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 many pupils are at The Holy Cross School?
- The Holy Cross School has 994 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Holy Cross School full?
- The Holy Cross School has capacity for 827 pupils and 994 on roll (120%), 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 The Holy Cross School a faith school?
- Yes. The Holy Cross School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Southwark.
- Is The Holy Cross School a selective school?
- No. The Holy Cross School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Holy Cross School part of an academy trust?
- The Holy Cross School is part of THE HOLY CROSS SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Holy Cross School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 61.9 in 2022/23 and 59.2 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 Holy Cross School compare with other schools in Kingston upon Thames?
- The Holy Cross School ranked 5th of 11 secondary schools in Kingston upon Thames for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 92% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% 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 Holy Cross School's absence rate?
- The Holy Cross School's overall absence rate is 5.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Holy Cross School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Holy Cross 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.