Southborough High School

About Southborough High School

Southborough High School, a boys’ secondary in Kingston upon Thames, was rated Good in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, with every category — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision — all landing at the same grade. The school’s most telling exam metric is its Progress 8 score of 0.29, which is classified as ‘Above average’ nationally. That means pupils here typically achieve nearly a third of a grade more per subject than students with similar starting points across England. It’s a solid result, though worth noting that the local authority average Progress 8 for Kingston upon Thames is 0.66, so Southborough sits below the LA mean. Still, within the borough’s 14 state secondaries, it ranks 8th, and its national percentile of 27 means it outperforms roughly three-quarters of schools in England on this measure.

At GCSE, the school’s Attainment 8 score sits at 49.2, and 70.8% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in both English and maths — the basics measure. The EBacc average point score is 4.06, though only 18.2% of pupils entered the full EBacc suite, and just 9.1% achieved a grade 5 or above in it. In the sixth form, 61 students took A-levels, with an average points per entry of 28.59, equivalent to a C grade. The best three A-levels averaged out at a C+ grade, and the value-added score of -0.13 is classed as ‘Average’, meaning students leave sixth form with results broadly in line with expectations. Maths Progress 8 is notably stronger at 0.38, while English Progress 8 is a more modest 0.13. The school’s Progress 8 banding is ‘Above average’, driven largely by open subjects and maths.

The school is oversubscribed: for 2025/26, it received 356 applications for 161 places, a ratio of 2.21 applicants per place, with 90 first-preference offers made. Facilities include a swimming pool, theatre, astro turf, tennis courts, sports hall, science labs, and a sixth-form centre. Sports on offer include cricket, rugby, swimming, and badminton, while clubs range from debate and drama to choir and a newspaper group. SEND provisions cover a wide spectrum, including dyslexia support, autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language needs, and social, emotional and mental health. With 20.9% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a mixed intake. It’s a good fit for families who want a boys-only state school with a strong Progress 8 story, decent facilities, and a sixth form that performs at the national average, though those seeking the highest LA outcomes might look at the top-ranked schools nearby.

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