Hitchin Boys' School
Grammar School Walk, Hitchin, SG5 1JB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Trust
- HITCHIN BOYS' SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mr Timothy Bennett
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Hitchin
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,400
- Pupils on roll
- 1,364
- URN
- 139154
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01462432181
About this school
Hitchin Boys' School is a boys' secondary academy in Hitchin. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,364 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Hitchin Boys' 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Exceptional
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Exceptional
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Exceptional
- Leadership and governance
- Exceptional
- Post-16 provision
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 208 | 208 | 210 |
| Attainment 8 score | 57.1 | 56.3 | 57.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.39 +0.19 to +0.59 | +0.57 +0.38 to +0.77 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 71% | 64.9% | 66.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 87% | 88.5% | 87.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 81% | 88.5% | 82.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
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 Hitchin Boys' 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 | Hertfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 57.1 | 44.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 56.3 | 44.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 57.1 | 44.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,307 |
| 2023/24 | 1,317 |
| 2024/25 | 1,357 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Hitchin Boys' School compares
Hitchin Boys' School ranked 24th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 90% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 57.1 | 4.4% | 7.9% | 1,364 | — |
| Hitchin Girls' School | 57.8 | 7.2% | 8.4% | 1,357 | 0.4 miles |
| The Priory School | 48.5 | 8.7% | 24.2% | 1,221 | 0.8 miles |
| The Highfield School | 41.7 | 10% | 27.8% | 937 | 2.0 miles |
| Fearnhill School | 38.9 | 10.9% | 39.3% | 597 | 2.2 miles |
| The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School | 57.9 | 5.5% | 10.3% | 1,620 | 3.5 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 7.87%
- English as an additional language
- 9.9%
- Overall absence
- 4.43%
- Persistent absence
- 9.24%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hitchin Girls' School0.4 miles
Secondary · Hitchin
-
The Priory School0.8 miles
Secondary · Hitchin
-
The Highfield School2.0 miles
Secondary · Letchworth Garden City
-
Fearnhill School2.2 miles
Secondary · Letchworth
-
The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School3.5 miles
Secondary · Stevenage
Other schools in Hitchin
- Hitchin Girls' School Secondary
- The Priory School Secondary
- York Road Nursery School Nursery
- Breachwood Green Junior Mixed and Infant School Primary
- Codicote Church of England Primary School Primary
- Graveley Primary School Primary
- Highbury Infant School and Nursery Primary
- Highover Junior Mixed and Infant School Primary
- Ickleford Primary School Primary
- Kimpton Primary School Primary
- Mary Exton Primary School Primary
- Offley Endowed Primary School and Nursery Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Hitchin Boys' School teach?
- Hitchin Boys' School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Hitchin.
- Who is the headteacher of Hitchin Boys' School?
- The headteacher of Hitchin Boys' School is Mr Timothy Bennett, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Hitchin Boys' School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Hitchin Boys' 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 Hitchin Boys' School?
- Hitchin Boys' School has 1,364 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Hitchin Boys' School full?
- Hitchin Boys' School has capacity for 1,400 pupils and 1,364 on roll (97%), 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 Hitchin Boys' School a faith school?
- No. Hitchin Boys' School has no designated religious character.
- Is Hitchin Boys' School a selective school?
- No. Hitchin Boys' School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Hitchin Boys' School part of an academy trust?
- Hitchin Boys' School is part of HITCHIN BOYS' SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Hitchin Boys' School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 57.1 in 2022/23 and 57.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Hitchin Boys' School compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- Hitchin Boys' School ranked 24th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 90% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Hitchin Boys' School's absence rate?
- Hitchin Boys' School's overall absence rate is 4.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Hitchin Boys' School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Hitchin Boys' 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.