Highams Park School

Waltham Forest · E4 9PJ

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 1592 pupils, 24.6% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 10% on SEN support Behaviour 8.1% absence rate Staff 12.5% turnover Financials £11,323 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Highams Park School

General Information

Address: 34 Handsworth Avenue, Highams Park, London, E4 9PJ – View on map
Phone: 02085274051
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Nigel Armsby
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 231 families put it first for 229 places – 10 for every 10 places. 84% of them were offered a place. 3 of the 229 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 8 · 2025 9 · 2026 10
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1592 pupils out of 1700 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 291
% eligible for free school meals: 24.6%
Pupil mix: 9 in 10 (similar to the Waltham Forest average)
English as an additional language: 34% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 12.5% a year (Waltham Forest 15.8%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 31% moved to another school, 69% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Waltham Forest: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 33 (2.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 36 (2.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 5 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Waltham Forest, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 8.1%
Persistently absent pupils: 25.5%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 10.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.8%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 50 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 43 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 34 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 20 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 19 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 16 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Severe learning difficulty: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2024 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 47.5
Compared with the area: 1.0 points below the Waltham Forest average (48.5)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (−2.0 points against an expected 49.5)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 67% (Waltham Forest 67%, England 65%) Falling
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolWaltham Forest averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 1.0 points below the Waltham Forest average (48.5).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

8th of 18 secondary schools in Waltham Forest for Attainment 8

#6Leytonstone School49.0
#7Norlington School and 6th Form48.6
#8Highams Park School47.5
#9Chingford Foundation School47.1
#10George Mitchell School47.0

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Woodford County High School80.1
#2Eden Girls' School, Waltham Forest63.5
#3Walthamstow School for Girls60.0
#4Connaught School for Girls50.6
#5Walthamstow Academy49.2
#6Leytonstone School49.0
#7Norlington School and 6th Form48.6
#8Highams Park School47.5
#9Chingford Foundation School47.1
#10George Mitchell School47.0
#11Frederick Bremer School46.7
#12Heathcote School & Science College46.1
#13Willowfield School46.1
#14Holy Family Catholic School45.5
#15Buxton School45.2
#16Kelmscott School43.7
#17Lammas School36.3
#18South Chingford Foundation School32.8

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 94.0%
Went into further education: 92.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Science Double Award
History
French Language
Geography
Business Studies
D & T
Physics (General)
Chemistry (General)
Biology
Sociology
Media Studies
Computer Science
Sports Studies
Food Technology
Art & Design
Religious Studies
Spanish
Music Studies (General)
Speech & Drama
Dance: General
Italian
Polish
Urdu
Turkish
Japanese Language
Arabic
Persian Language
Russian
German

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

9th of 14 secondary schools in Waltham Forest for Ofsted rating

#7George Mitchell SchoolGood
#8Heathcote School & Science CollegeGood
#9Highams Park SchoolGood
#10Holy Family Catholic SchoolGood
#11Kelmscott SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Eden Girls' School, Waltham ForestOutstanding
#2Walthamstow School for GirlsOutstanding
#3Buxton SchoolGood
#4Chingford Foundation SchoolGood
#5Connaught School for GirlsGood
#6Frederick Bremer SchoolGood
#7George Mitchell SchoolGood
#8Heathcote School & Science CollegeGood
#9Highams Park SchoolGood
#10Holy Family Catholic SchoolGood
#11Kelmscott SchoolGood
#12Norlington School and 6th FormGood
#13Walthamstow AcademyGood
#14Woodford County High SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £11,323 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

2nd of 18 secondary schools in Waltham Forest for spending per pupil

#1Lammas School£13,221
#2Highams Park School£11,323
#3Frederick Bremer School£11,300
#4Heathcote School & Science College£9,794

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Lammas School£13,221
#2Highams Park School£11,323
#3Frederick Bremer School£11,300
#4Heathcote School & Science College£9,794
#5Walthamstow School for Girls£9,573
#6Leytonstone School£9,417
#7Buxton School£9,357
#8South Chingford Foundation School£9,016
#9Chingford Foundation School£8,987
#10Holy Family Catholic School£8,932
#11Kelmscott School£8,763
#12Walthamstow Academy£8,740
#13Connaught School for Girls£8,687
#14Eden Girls' School, Waltham Forest£8,610
#15Norlington School and 6th Form£8,550
#16Willowfield School£8,403
#17George Mitchell School£8,343
#18Woodford County High School£7,211

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Waltham Forest: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered