Hurstmere School
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Hurstmere School is a converter academy in Sidcup for boys aged 11 to 16. It has 893 pupils and room for 1,065. About 16 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 5 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 4% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was requires improvement, back in 2022.
Hurst Road, Sidcup, DA15 9AW020 8300 5665hurstmere-that.org.ukLynn Bennett headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 27 September 2022, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Requires improvement overall.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
195 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024† | 2023† | 2022† | 2019† | 2018† | Bexley | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 195 | 208 | 216 | 208 | 199 | 195 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 42.1 | 45.1 | 43.5 | 44.7 | 45.7 | 44.3 | 51.0 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -0.07 | -0.30 | -0.41 | -0.32 | -0.38 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 42% | 49% | 45% | 40% | 46% | 47% | 54% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 64% | 68% | 68% | 67% | 72% | 71% | 71% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 3.60 | 4.02 | 3.97 | 3.97 | 3.90 | 3.74 | 4.53 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 26% | 29% | 40% | 38% | 17% | 19% | 41% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 27.5 | 24.1 | 25.2 | 33.0 | 39.8 | 32.1 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 44.8 | 47.9 | 45.5 | 45.9 | 46.2 | 45.7 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 24.0 | 22.6 | 28.2 | 24.0 | 21.2 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 65.9 | 58.3 | 62.1 | 54.1 | 53.2 | – | – |
† These results are for Hurstmere School, the school this one replaced in September 2024. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Subjects
Results came out for 19 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.
Strongest subjects
Subjects that did worse than the England average: Music (33% here, 61% across England), Art and Design (32% here, 58% across England), Design & Technology (28% here, 50% across England), Business (32% here, 51% across England).
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 195 | 11% | 48% | 70% | 53% | 1,830 of 3,211 |
| English Language | 195 | 13% | 45% | 65% | 54% | 2,230 of 3,210 |
| English Literature | 193 | 10% | 48% | 68% | 58% | 2,161 of 3,202 |
| Combined Science | 152 | 0% | 22% | 40% | 36% | 2,507 of 3,084 |
| Business | 108 | 6% | 32% | 48% | 51% | 1,420 of 1,806 |
| History | 99 | 28% | 62% | 77% | 52% | 857 of 3,126 |
| Geography | 89 | 23% | 55% | 70% | 51% | 1,067 of 3,116 |
| Physical Education | 56 | 7% | 57% | 71% | 56% | 770 of 1,559 |
| French | 53 | 17% | 57% | 72% | 60% | 1,187 of 1,974 |
| Design & Technology | 50 | 10% | 28% | 44% | 50% | 1,197 of 1,478 |
| Biology | 43 | 21% | 65% | 86% | 82% | 2,122 of 2,570 |
| Chemistry | 42 | 21% | 74% | 88% | 81% | 1,823 of 2,537 |
| Physics | 42 | 29% | 81% | 88% | 82% | 1,578 of 2,546 |
| Art and Design | 41 | 5% | 32% | 49% | 58% | 2,481 of 2,818 |
| Computer Science | 31 | 16% | 39% | 55% | 56% | 1,376 of 1,861 |
| Music | 27 | 0% | 33% | 44% | 61% | 328 of 395 |
| Social Studies | 26 | 4% | 46% | 65% | 54% | 680 of 1,043 |
| Media / Film / TV | 23 | 4% | 39% | 52% | 55% | 461 of 580 |
| Religious Studies | 16 | 0% | 44% | 63% | 60% | – |
In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. None of the gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At GCSE, 2025
Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
About 112 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Bexley council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (76), Autistic spectrum disorder (43), Specific learning difficulty (39), language and communications needs (21), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (7), Vision impairment (7).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 893 | 965 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 16% | 15% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 9% | 8% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 20% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 2% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 92.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23† | 2021/22† | 2020/21† | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 7.2% | 7.4% | 7.9% | 7.7% | 4.6% | 5.0% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 5.4% | 4.7% | 6.2% | 6.2% | 3.7% | 4.1% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.8% | 2.7% | 1.8% | 1.5% | 0.9% | 0.9% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 19.6% | 21.4% | 23.2% | 23.1% | 10.5% | 11.3% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 17.4 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 4 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – |
† These attendance figures are for Hurstmere School, the school this one replaced in September 2024. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other secondary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School | Academy (grammar) | 550 m | 1,561 | Good 2022 | 96 | Compare |
| Cleeve Park School | Academy | 0.7 miles | 994 | Good 2024 | 34 | Compare |
| Blackfen School for Girls | Academy | 0.7 miles | 1,324 | No overall grade 2025 | 33 | Compare |
| Bexley Grammar School | Academy (grammar) | 1.3 miles | 1,504 | Outstanding 2022 | 97 | Compare |
| Townley Grammar School | Academy (grammar) | 1.4 miles | 1,669 | Outstanding 2023 | 98 | Compare |
| Beths Grammar School | Academy (grammar) | 1.7 miles | 1,701 | Good 2022 | 94 | Compare |
| Chislehurst School for Girls | Academy | 1.8 miles | 1,227 | Good 2023 | 70 | Compare |
| Harris Academy Falconwood | Academy | 1.8 miles | 1,295 | Good 2019 | 59 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Hurstmere School with the 49 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 49 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher
Of those 49 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Hurstmere School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullers Wood School for Boys | Free school | 4.0 miles | 894 | Good 2023 | 66 | Compare |
| Ravens Wood School | Academy | 5.9 miles | 1,598 | Good 2023 | 50 | Compare |
| Langley Park School for Boys | Academy | 6.8 miles | 1,823 | Not inspected | 80 | Compare |
| Forest Hill School | Council | 7.0 miles | 1,080 | Good 2023 | 75 | Compare |
| Harris Boys' Academy East Dulwich | Academy | 7.9 miles | 912 | Outstanding 2023 | 93 | Compare |
| St Joseph's College | Academy | 9.7 miles | 739 | Good 2020 | 64 | Compare |
| Northfleet Technology College | Foundation | 9.9 miles | 974 | Good 2022 | 21 | Compare |
| Norlington School and 6th Form | Academy | 10.2 miles | 895 | Good 2023 | 69 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 5 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 5% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 4 to 8. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 20% | in line | -0.06 | 2025 results; 195 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 18% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | well below | -0.46 | Ofsted grade, 4.0 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | well below | -0.45 | Contextualised attainment (no DfE progress measure available); 195 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | above | +0.06 | 2024/25; 984 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | well below | -0.22 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 195 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 0% | no data | – |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is Hurstmere School a good school?
The figures are weak. Hurstmere School scores 5 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 4% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 4 to 8, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Hurstmere School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Hurstmere School requires improvement at its last full inspection on 27 September 2022.
How good are Hurstmere School's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 42% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 42.1, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished about level with children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Hurstmere School have?
893 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 1,065 places, so it is 84% full. It is a boys' school.
Is Hurstmere School oversubscribed?
Probably not. 112 places were empty in 2024/25 (11% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at Hurstmere School?
Pupils were in school 92.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 20% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Hurstmere School?
The average class had 25.1 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 9% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does Hurstmere School have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Hurst Road, Sidcup, DA15 9AW
- Telephone
- 020 8300 5665
- Website
- www.hurstmere-that.org.uk
- Headteacher
- Lynn Bennett
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- The Howard Academy Trust (9 schools)
- Local authority
- Bexley
- Ward
- Blendon & Penhill
- Constituency
- Old Bexley and Sidcup
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2024 (fresh start)
- URN
- 151382 · LAESTAB 3034012 · UKPRN 10096567
- Formerly
- Hurstmere School
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.