Harefield School

About Harefield School

Harefield School is a secondary school in Hillingdon that, despite its relatively small size, is clearly a popular choice among local families. For the 2025/26 admissions round, the school received 119 applications for just 64 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.86. That means nearly two families applied for every available spot, and all 32 first-preference applicants were offered a place. This level of demand suggests a strong local reputation, even though the school does not publish a formal parent recommendation percentage. The school is led by headteacher Salma Riley-Haque and currently has 254 pupils on roll against a capacity of 1,000, so it is operating well below its maximum size. This smaller cohort may appeal to parents looking for a more contained environment, though the school does offer a full secondary age range from 11 through to 18, with an official sixth form.

Academically, Harefield’s most recent data tells a mixed story. At Key Stage 4, the school’s Progress 8 score is -0.66, which is well below the national average and significantly behind the Hillingdon local authority average of +0.06. This places Harefield 18th out of 21 schools in the borough and in the bottom 50% nationally. The Attainment 8 score sits at 37.7, and just 18.2% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths. The EBacc entry rate is also low at 18.2%, with only 3.6% achieving the full EBacc at grade 5 or above. At sixth form level, the picture is more encouraging: the school’s value-added score is +0.08, which is rated as average, and the average points per entry is 28.33, equivalent to a C- grade. The sixth form is small, with just 10 pupils in the data, so results should be interpreted with caution.

Harefield’s facilities are surprisingly extensive for a school of its size, including a swimming pool, theatre, chapel, sports hall, tennis courts, and a dedicated sixth form centre. The school also offers a wide range of clubs and sports, from rugby and hockey to martial arts and dance, plus the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and Model UN. For families with children who have special educational needs, the school lists provisions for dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, physical disabilities, and autistic spectrum disorder. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in 2021 rated it Good across all areas, a notable improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2018. Harefield is best suited to families who value a smaller, community-focused secondary with strong facilities and a sixth form, and who are comfortable with academic results that are below the local average.

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