Hitchin Girls' School

Hitchin Girls’ School is a girls’ 11–18 single-academy trust that was inspected in October 2024. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2013, after a long period of exemption following a previous outstanding judgement. Inspectors found exceptionally strong provision across the school, with pupils achieving very highly and benefiting from a broad, ambitious curriculum that includes Latin and classical civilisation in Years 7 to 9. Teaching is subject-specialist and responsive, reading is a high priority, and pupils with SEND are identified quickly and well supported. Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary, bullying is extremely rare, and pastoral support is high quality. Attendance and punctuality are monitored closely and are in line with national expectations. Personal development is exceptional, with a wide range of enrichment, strong careers advice and meaningful leadership roles for sixth-form students, including peer mentoring and ambassadorial work. Leadership is strong and values-led, governance is effective, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. No areas for improvement were flagged in the report.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve exceptionally strongly, including in national assessments
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and sequenced well across subjects
• All pupils access Latin and classical civilisation in Years 7 to 9
• Teachers use strong subject expertise and give timely, effective feedback
• Reading is a high priority, with gaps identified early and addressed rapidly
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and well supported in the full life of the school
• Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary and bullying is extremely rare
• Pastoral support is high quality and attendance is in line with national expectations
• Personal development is exceptional, with wide enrichment and strong careers provision
• Sixth-form students take active leadership roles, including peer mentoring and ambassadorships
• Leaders have strong shared values and effective governance
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

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 Hitchin Girls' School attended 92.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 16.3% 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, 2.9% of pupils at Hitchin Girls' School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 Hitchin Girls' School had 16.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.5% 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, 10.5% of pupils at Hitchin Girls' School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.1% 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 Hitchin Girls' School received £7,353 and spent £7,404 for each of its 1,356 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,295,000 (£955 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 Hitchin · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Hitchin Girls' School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hitchin Girls' School is Outstanding, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Hitchin Girls' School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hitchin Girls' School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Hitchin Girls' School have?

Hitchin Girls' School has 1,357 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hitchin Girls' School cover?

Hitchin Girls' School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Hitchin Girls' School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 61.8, and 75% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Hitchin Girls' School?

Hitchin Girls' School is at Highbury Road, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 9RS.