Challney High School for Girls
Addington Way, Luton, LU4 9FJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Girls
- Trust
- CHILTERN LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sheba George
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Chiltern Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Luton North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,064
- Pupils on roll
- 1,062
- URN
- 144312
- Local authority
- Luton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01582571427
About this school
Challney High School for Girls is a girls' secondary academy in Luton. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,062 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Challney High School for Girls, 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 211 | 205 | 206 |
| Attainment 8 score | 51.1 | 51.0 | 50.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.93 +0.74 to +1.13 | +0.74 +0.54 to +0.93 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 52% | 54.1% | 47.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 72% | 71.2% | 72.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 29% | 34.1% | 28.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.2 |
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 Challney High School for Girls has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Luton average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 51.1 | 41.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 51 | 42.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.1 | 43.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,049 |
| 2023/24 | 1,042 |
| 2024/25 | 1,046 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Challney High School for Girls compares
Challney High School for Girls ranked 2nd of 13 secondary schools in Luton for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 76% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50.1 | 6.3% | 30.3% | 1,062 | — |
| Challney High School for Boys | 47.7 | 7% | 28.4% | 1,197 | 0.2 miles |
| The Chalk Hills Academy | 45.7 | 8.7% | 35.1% | 1,644 | 0.9 miles |
| Lealands High School | 44.3 | 6.8% | 35% | 1,025 | 1.4 miles |
| Lea Manor High School | 36.3 | 9.5% | 43.7% | 916 | 1.6 miles |
| Houstone School | 46.1 | 7.4% | 29.4% | 765 | 1.8 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
-
Ungraded inspection report26 March 2025
- 14 January 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 30.31%
- English as an additional language
- 79.3%
- Overall absence
- 6.32%
- Persistent absence
- 14.72%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Challney High School for Boys0.2 miles
Secondary · Luton
-
The Chalk Hills Academy0.9 miles
Secondary · Luton
-
Lealands High School1.4 miles
Secondary · Luton
-
Lea Manor High School1.6 miles
Secondary · Luton
-
Houstone School1.8 miles
Secondary · Dunstable
Other schools in Luton
Challney High School for Girls ranks 2nd of the 14 ranked secondary schools in Luton.
- Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College Secondary
- Challney High School for Boys Secondary
- Chiltern Academy Secondary
- Denbigh High School Secondary
- Icknield High School Secondary
- Lea Manor High School Secondary
- Lealands High School Secondary
- Manshead Church of England Academy Secondary
- Putteridge High School Secondary
- Queen Elizabeth School Secondary
- Stopsley High School Secondary
- The Chalk Hills Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Challney High School for Girls teach?
- Challney High School for Girls teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Luton.
- Who is the headteacher of Challney High School for Girls?
- The headteacher of Challney High School for Girls is Mrs Sheba George, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Challney High School for Girls been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Challney High School for Girls, 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 Challney High School for Girls?
- Challney High School for Girls has 1,062 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Challney High School for Girls full?
- Challney High School for Girls has capacity for 1,064 pupils and 1,062 on roll (100%), 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 Challney High School for Girls a faith school?
- No. Challney High School for Girls has no designated religious character.
- Is Challney High School for Girls a selective school?
- No. Challney High School for Girls is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Challney High School for Girls part of an academy trust?
- Challney High School for Girls is part of CHILTERN LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Challney High School for Girls's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 51.1 in 2022/23 and 50.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Challney High School for Girls compare with other schools in Luton?
- Challney High School for Girls ranked 2nd of 13 secondary schools in Luton for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 76% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Challney High School for Girls's absence rate?
- Challney High School for Girls's overall absence rate is 6.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Challney High School for Girls's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Challney High School for Girls'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 10 July 2026.