Secondary schools in Hillingdon

Local authority · London

Hillingdon has 27 secondary schools in this dataset — 23 state-funded and 4 independent. 2 are selective, admitting on an entrance test; 4 have a religious character; 26 have a sixth form.

How the area compares

The typical school here posts a three-year Progress 8 of +0.33 (above average) — 0.34 of a grade per subject above the national median of -0.01. That is the middle of the 22 schools in this area with a published score.

The spread inside the area is wider than the gap between areas: from -1.66 to +0.87. Which school a child goes to matters more here than which area you move to.

For 2026 entry the typical school here drew 0.78 first preferences per place — less pressure than the national median of 0.95×. 6 of the 18 schools with published figures were named first by more families than they had places for. A high figure means popular, not good, and it is not your chance of a place — that depends on where you live.

Overall absence runs at 7.6% for the typical school here, below the national median of 8.7%. Absence is a plainer signal of whether pupils are turning up and engaged than any grade average.

The schools, ranked

Ordered on the three-year average Progress 8, which is steadier than any single year. Read the confidence interval beside each score before you read the order: it is the range the school's true figure is likely to sit in, and a wide one means a small year group rather than an unpredictable school.

Progress 8 and Attainment 8 are three-year averages (2021–22 to 2023–24). Admissions pressure is first preferences per place for 2026 entry. The Ofsted column mixes three regimes — a legacy overall grade, a 2025 report-card achievement grade, and the outcome of an ungraded inspection — which are not the same judgement; each school's own page says which it has.
SchoolProgress 895% intervalAttainment 8PressureOfsted
1Bishopshalt SchoolAcademy converter+0.87well above average+0.84 to +1.272023–2457.51.76×Exceptional (achievement)
2Northwood SchoolAcademy converter+0.77well above average+0.54 to +0.982023–2456.21.16×Standards maintained (ungraded)
3Queensmead SchoolAcademy converter+0.72well above average+0.50 to +0.872023–2456.40.83×Strong standard (achievement)
4Swakeleys School for GirlsAcademy converter+0.69well above average+0.45 to +0.832023–2456.00.77×Good
5Barnhill Community High SchoolAcademy converter+0.69well above average+0.43 to +0.822023–2454.81.70×Outstanding
6Rosedale CollegeAcademy converter+0.67well above average+0.05 to +0.562023–2453.70.47×Good
7Guru Nanak Sikh AcademyAcademy converter+0.66well above average+0.22 to +0.652023–2456.80.97×Good
8Ruislip High SchoolAcademy converter+0.58well above average+0.42 to +0.822023–2454.31.32×Outstanding
9The Douay Martyrs Catholic SchoolAcademy converter+0.56well above average+0.37 to +0.732023–2454.50.72×Good (ungraded)
10Bishop Ramsey Church of England SchoolAcademy converter+0.33above average+0.00 to +0.392023–2455.60.79×
11De Salis Studio CollegeStudio schools+0.33above average+0.02 to +0.922023–2452.3Standards maintained (ungraded)
12Vyners SchoolAcademy converter+0.32above average+0.17 to +0.542023–2455.11.46×Standards maintained (ungraded)
13Harlington SchoolFoundation school+0.25above average+0.06 to +0.482023–2443.60.70×Good (Concerns) (ungraded)
14Uxbridge High SchoolAcademy converter+0.15average-0.07 to +0.312023–2447.61.02×Good (Improving) (ungraded)
15Hewens CollegeAcademy converter-0.08average-0.15 to +0.552023–2440.40.34×
16Haydon SchoolAcademy converter-0.13average-0.37 to -0.012023–2450.60.35×Good
17Park Academy West LondonAcademy sponsor led-0.32below average-0.55 to -0.042023–2441.30.47×Requires improvement
18Oak Wood SchoolFoundation school-0.44below average-0.44 to -0.042023–2439.80.47×Good
19Parkside Studio CollegeStudio schools-0.81well below average-2.29 to -0.332023–2432.9Good
20Harefield SchoolAcademy sponsor led-0.85well below average-1.04 to -0.272023–2436.20.70×Needs attention (achievement)
21UTC HeathrowUniversity technical college-0.93well below average-2.11 to -1.102023–2436.8Good
22Global AcademyUniversity technical college-1.66well below average-2.24 to -1.562023–2430.3

3 of the 21 other schools ranked here have a confidence interval that overlaps Bishopshalt School's. On these figures they cannot be told apart from the school at the top of the table, and the order between them is not a finding. 3 schools here have an interval that includes zero (shaded above) — those cannot be told apart from an average school nationally.

Schools with no Progress 8 score

These are not bottom of the table — they are not in it. A school with no published score has not done badly; the measure was not calculated for it, and the reason differs.

ACS Hillingdon International SchoolIndependent — no Progress 8 is calculated for fee-paying schools
HRUC (Harrow, Richmond & Uxbridge Colleges)Sixth-form or 16–19 site — no GCSE cohort, so no Progress 8
Lady Nafisa SchoolIndependent — no Progress 8 is calculated for fee-paying schools
Northwood College for Girls GDSTIndependent — no Progress 8 is calculated for fee-paying schools
St Helen's SchoolIndependent — no Progress 8 is calculated for fee-paying schools

Where the competition is

The most sought-after school in Hillingdon for 2026 entry was Bishopshalt School at 1.76 first preferences per place — 313 families named it first for 178 places.

Pressure is not a chance of admission. A school with two applicants per place can still admit every family living near it, while a less popular school further away turns you down. Distance from the gate is usually what decides it, and no national figure can tell you that for your own address.

See Hillingdon on the map →The same schools on a map, with every filter: results, admissions pressure, Ofsted, faith and selection — or sorted by distance from your own postcode.

Nearby areas

Admissions do not stop at an authority line. If you live near one, your realistic list of schools spans both sides of it.

What this page doesn't tell you

The results here are for 2023–24 and earlier, so they describe pupils who have already left. Nothing on this page covers sixth-form results, pastoral care, music, sport or drama, or how a school feels to walk around — which is what parents most often say settled it. The ranking is a starting point for a shortlist, not a verdict on a school.

Nor is it a prediction of a place. Admission depends on each school's criteria and, most often, on how far you live from it — and in Hillingdon you apply for a state-funded place through the council's coordinated scheme, naming several schools in order of preference.