The impressive news comes weeks before parents need to apply for Year 7 places
The best performing state secondary schools in England for 2025 have been revealed – and some London pupils have really smashed it. Every single child studying GCSE English and Maths at Hampstead’s Henrietta Barnett School achieved a Grade 5 or above in the 2025/25 academic year, according to data released by the Department for Education.
They were one of just 11 schools in England to achieve the feat. However, the boys at Wilson’s School, in Wallington, took it one step further.
The selective grammar saw 100% of pupils achieve grade 5 or above in the English Baccalaureate – which measures performance across a wider set of core GCSE subjects. The impressive news comes a fortnight before parents in many areas face a deadline to submit for Year 7 places in September 2026.
However, one key performance indicator is missing from the league tables – pupil progress. This is because youngsters in the class of 2025 were not assessed at primary school due to the Covid lockdowns in 2020.
As such, officials were unable to calculate an ‘added value’ score showing the extent to which schools had improved pupils’ performance over the course of their secondary school education. This helpful data will also be missing from next year’s school performance data for the same reason.
Nonetheless, you can see how every school in England performed by using our interactive gadget. Type in the name of a school, or the local authority area, to see details of your school:
Schools are ranked here by three metrics for Key Stage 4 education; the percentage of pupils achieving GCSE Grade 5 or above in English and Maths, the percentage of pupils of pupils achieving GCSE Grade 5 or above in the English Baccalaureate, and the average exam result for pupils in the school (which is based on an ‘Attainment’ score). Overall, GCSE results were up slightly for the second year in a row for schools in England.
The Grade-5 pass rate went up to 55 per cent from 54.6 per cent in 2024. That is also up on the pre-pandemic figure of 53.5 per cent. However, the Grade-5 pass rate for English and Maths was down on the previous year.
The proportion of graces 7 to 9, which are equivalent to A*/A, rose by nearly 2 percentage points in 2025. The data for 2025 also showed a continued regional divide with just 17.8 per cent of GCSEs ranked at grade 7 or above in the North East of England, compared with 28.4 per cent in London.
Schools where 100% of pupils achieved Grade 5 or above in English and Maths
- Colchester County High School for Girls
- Colchester Royal Grammar School *
- Kendrick School, Reading *
- King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford
- King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon *
- Newstead Wood School, Kent
- Reading School *
- St Olave’s and St Saviour’s Grammar School, Kent *
- Stratford Girls’ Grammar School
- The Henrietta Barnett School, Hampstead
- Wilson’s School, Sutton
Those marked with an asterisk have achieved 100% in this score for the second successive year.
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