Hanley Castle High School

Hanley Castle High School is performing well, demonstrating a strong overall effectiveness rated as good across all sectors, including the quality of education and leadership. The school has a well-structured and ambitious curriculum which supports pupils in achieving their best. Relationships between staff and students are nurturing, fostering a supportive atmosphere where pupils feel respected and valued. This is further enhanced by the extensive extra-curricular activities and community engagement initiatives that encourage personal development.

Strengths

• Ambitious curriculum providing broad learning opportunities for all students.
• Strong teacher knowledge leading to effective curriculum delivery.
• Warm and respectful relationships between staff and students.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Well-planned personal development programme fostering cultural respect.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent implementation of new assessment procedures by teachers.
• Occasional lapses in support for pupils with SEND.

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 Hanley Castle High School attended 91.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 8.4% of pupils at Hanley Castle High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Hanley Castle High School had 18.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.2% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 12.2% of pupils at Hanley Castle High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Hanley Castle High School received £7,472 and spent £7,193 for each of its 1,100 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £661,000 (£601 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of Hanley and Upton Educational Trust, income was £7,193 and spending £6,992 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Worcester · Worcestershire local authority: places and applications

Hanley Castle High School is part of Hanley and Upton Educational Trust, which runs 4 schools. The nearest others:

• Hanley Swan St Gabriel's with St Mary's CofE Primary School Hanley Swan
• Welland Primary School Malvern
• Kempsey Primary School Worcester

What is Hanley Castle High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hanley Castle High School is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was Hanley Castle High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hanley Castle High School was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does Hanley Castle High School have?

Hanley Castle High School has 1,142 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hanley Castle High School cover?

Hanley Castle High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Hanley Castle High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.1, and 41% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Hanley Castle High School?

Hanley Castle High School is at Church End, Hanley Castle, Worcester, Worcestershire, WR8 0BL.