Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School

Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School has a positive, caring ethos built on values such as respect, understanding and teamwork. Pupils behave well, feel well cared for and benefit from strong pastoral support, rich enrichment activities and meaningful opportunities to take responsibility. Personal development, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, early years provision and safeguarding are all strengths, and governors and staff are united in their ambition for pupils.

Strengths

• Values-based ethos creates a positive culture and sense of belonging
• Pupils demonstrate good behaviour and learn and play happily together
• Strong pastoral support ensures pupils feel cared for
• Enrichment through forest school, clubs, visits and special events is strong
• Pupils have meaningful leadership and community roles
• A new phonics programme has contributed to improvements in early reading
• Additional needs are identified promptly and EHC plan targets translate well
• Therapists provide specialist input when needed
• Partnership with parents has helped improve attendance
• Pupils learn about diversity, health and safety
• Governors are knowledgeable and fulfil their responsibilities ably
• Leaders, governors and staff share high aspirations and a commitment to improvement
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Support for the weakest readers in Years 1 to 6 is inconsistent and risks them falling further behind
• The phonics programme is still being refined to set term-by-term intended milestones
• Writing teaching is not sharp enough in spelling, punctuation and handwriting
• Gaps in pupils' writing knowledge are not addressed systematically
• Some pupils with SEND are not achieving as well as they should
• Learning tasks in wider curriculum subjects are not always adapted well to pupils' needs
• Some pupils struggle to start or complete tasks where reading and writing demands are high
• Not all pupils achieve as well as they should because of inconsistencies in the quality of education

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School attended 95.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.1% of pupils at Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School had 17.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.4% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 14.4% of pupils at Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School received £7,536 and spent £8,103 for each of its 167 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £104,000 (-£623 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Chesham · Buckinghamshire local authority: places and applications

What is Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School have?

Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School has 167 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School cover?

Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School?

Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School is at Hawridge, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, HP5 2UQ.