Guildford County School
Farnham Road, Guildford, GU2 4LU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- LEARNING PARTNERS ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Steve Smith
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- LEARNING PARTNERS ACADEMY TRUST
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Guildford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,187
- Pupils on roll
- 1,170
- URN
- 139193
- Local authority
- Surrey
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01483504089
About this school
Guildford County School is a secondary academy in Guildford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,170 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Guildford County 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 23 February 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding. 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 | 181 | 184 | 181 |
| Attainment 8 score | 58.5 | 61.0 | 54.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.53 +0.31 to +0.74 | +0.72 +0.51 to +0.93 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 66% | 72.3% | 64.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 83% | 84.8% | 80.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 41% | 40.8% | 84% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.2 |
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 Guildford County 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 | Surrey average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 58.5 | 38.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 61 | 39.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 54.8 | 38.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,208 |
| 2023/24 | 1,218 |
| 2024/25 | 1,190 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Guildford County School compares
Guildford County School ranked 18th of 54 secondary schools in Surrey for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 54.8 | 6.9% | 8.9% | 1,170 | — |
| Kings College Guildford | 44.4 | 9.7% | 28.3% | 593 | 1.2 miles |
| Christ's College, Guildford | 42.5 | 9.2% | 25% | 641 | 1.5 miles |
| George Abbot School | 58.2 | 6.9% | 10.4% | 1,927 | 2.1 miles |
| St Peter's Catholic School | 63.6 | 4.6% | 6.6% | 1,360 | 2.3 miles |
| Broadwater School | 55.9 | 7.3% | 18.9% | 750 | 2.3 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)
- 8.92%
- English as an additional language
- 22.9%
- Overall absence
- 6.93%
- Persistent absence
- 16.88%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Kings College Guildford1.2 miles
Secondary · Guildford
-
Christ's College, Guildford1.5 miles
Secondary · Guildford
-
George Abbot School2.1 miles
Secondary · Guildford
-
St Peter's Catholic School2.3 miles
Secondary · Guildford
-
Broadwater School2.3 miles
Secondary · Godalming
Other schools in Guildford
Guildford County School ranks 3rd of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Guildford.
- Christ's College, Guildford Secondary
- George Abbot School Secondary
- Kings College Guildford Secondary
- St Peter's Catholic School Secondary
- Guildford Nursery School Nursery
- Boxgrove Primary School Primary
- Bramley CofE Infant School and Nursery Primary
- Burpham Primary School Primary
- Chilworth CofE (Aided) Infant School Primary
- Clandon CofE Aided Primary School Primary
- Cranleigh Church of England Primary School Primary
- Guildford Grove Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Guildford County School teach?
- Guildford County School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Guildford.
- Who is the headteacher of Guildford County School?
- The headteacher of Guildford County School is Mr Steve Smith, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Guildford County School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Guildford County 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 Guildford County School?
- Guildford County School has 1,170 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Guildford County School full?
- Guildford County School has capacity for 1,187 pupils and 1,170 on roll (99%), 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 Guildford County School a faith school?
- No. Guildford County School has no designated religious character.
- Is Guildford County School a selective school?
- No. Guildford County School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Guildford County School part of an academy trust?
- Guildford County School is part of LEARNING PARTNERS ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Guildford County School have?
- The schools register lists Guildford County School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Guildford County School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 58.5 in 2022/23 and 54.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Guildford County School compare with other schools in Surrey?
- Guildford County School ranked 18th of 54 secondary schools in Surrey for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Guildford County School's absence rate?
- Guildford County School's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Guildford County School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Guildford County 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.