The Holy Cross School

Kingston upon Thames · KT3 5AR

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 994 pupils, 13.3% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 13.1% on SEN support Behaviour 5.6% absence rate Staff 8.2% turnover Financials £8,241 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Holy Cross School

General Information

Address: 25 Sandal Road, New Malden, KT3 5AR – View on map
Phone: 02083954225
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Dervla McConn-Finch
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 165 families put it first for 157 places – 11 for every 10 places. 78% of them were offered a place. 59 of the 157 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 11 · 2025 10 · 2026 11
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Girls
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

994 pupils out of 827 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 102
% eligible for free school meals: 13.3%
Pupil mix: 8 in 10 (similar to the Kingston upon Thames average)
English as an additional language: 22% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 8.2% a year (Kingston upon Thames 15.8%, typical in England 15.5%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 20% moved to another school, 80% 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. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

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 Kingston upon Thames: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 4 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 14 (1.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 2 (0.2 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 Kingston upon Thames, 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: 5.6%
Persistently absent pupils: 14.2%
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: 13.1%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.1%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Specific learning difficulty: 47 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 32 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 13 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 10 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 8 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 5 pupils
Physical disability: 3 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 2 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 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 2022 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: 59.2
Compared with the area: 1.3 points below the Kingston upon Thames average (60.5)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (+7.8 points against an expected 51.4)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 90% (Kingston upon Thames 84%, England 65%) Broadly steady
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 schoolKingston upon Thames averageEngland↘ Falling Down 2.7 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 1.3 points below the Kingston upon Thames average (60.5).

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.

5th of 11 secondary schools in Kingston upon Thames for Attainment 8

#3The Kingston Academy62.8
#4Richard Challoner School59.4
#5The Holy Cross School59.2
#6Tolworth Girls' School and Sixth Form57.5
#7Coombe Girls' School55.3

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1The Tiffin Girls' School85.3
#2Tiffin School79.1
#3The Kingston Academy62.8
#4Richard Challoner School59.4
#5The Holy Cross School59.2
#6Tolworth Girls' School and Sixth Form57.5
#7Coombe Girls' School55.3
#8Coombe Boys' School54.8
#9The Hollyfield School and Sixth Form Centre53.8
#10Southborough High School48.3
#11Chessington School43.4

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 99.0%
Went into further education: 99.0%
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
Religious Studies
English Literature
Spanish
Science Double Award
Geography
History
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Biology
French Language
Art & Design
Speech & Drama
Music Studies (General)
Dance: General
Computer Science
Sports Studies
Polish
Chinese
Electronics (Physics)
Astronomy
Portuguese
Arabic
Russian

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 10 secondary schools in Kingston upon Thames for Ofsted rating

#7Southborough High SchoolGood
#8The Hollyfield School and Sixth Form CentreGood
#9The Holy Cross SchoolGood
#10Tiffin 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

#1Richard Challoner SchoolOutstanding
#2The Kingston AcademyOutstanding
#3Tolworth Girls' School and Sixth FormOutstanding
#4Chessington SchoolGood
#5Coombe Boys' SchoolGood
#6Coombe Girls' SchoolGood
#7Southborough High SchoolGood
#8The Hollyfield School and Sixth Form CentreGood
#9The Holy Cross SchoolGood
#10Tiffin SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £8,241 (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.

3rd of 11 secondary schools in Kingston upon Thames for spending per pupil

#1Richard Challoner School£9,508
#2Tiffin School£8,774
#3The Holy Cross School£8,241
#4Chessington School£8,103
#5The Hollyfield School and Sixth Form Centre£7,873

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

#1Richard Challoner School£9,508
#2Tiffin School£8,774
#3The Holy Cross School£8,241
#4Chessington School£8,103
#5The Hollyfield School and Sixth Form Centre£7,873
#6The Tiffin Girls' School£7,722
#7Southborough High School£7,596
#8The Kingston Academy£7,594
#9Coombe Boys' School£7,410
#10Tolworth Girls' School and Sixth Form£7,402
#11Coombe Girls' School£7,394

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 Kingston upon Thames: 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