Jubilee High School Review 2026: A comprehensive with a distinctive curriculum and strong performing arts

A clear theme runs through Jubilee High School, staff talk about an ambitious “rainforest curriculum” and the intent is consistent: structured learning from Year 7 to Year 11, with checks on teaching expertise and a push to raise outcomes where they were weaker in the past.

This is an 11–16 mixed secondary, part of Bourne Education Trust, serving Addlestone and the wider Runnymede area. With a published admission number (PAN) of 150 for Year 7 and 347 stated preferences in the 2025 admissions cycle, demand tends to exceed supply.

Leadership stability matters in a school on an improvement journey. Mark Conroy is the headteacher, and he has been in post since at least October 2018. The most recent formal visit (March 2024) confirmed the school continues to be Good.

The tone here is purposeful and relational. The March 2024 report describes pupils as proud of the school and conscious of improvement, with positive relationships with staff playing a central role in confidence and motivation. That matters for families weighing culture as much as results, because a calm, courteous baseline creates the conditions for learning, especially for students who arrive with uneven confidence from primary school.

Expectations around behaviour are explicit and consistent. Pupils are described as understanding the behaviour system and typically maintaining calm conduct around the site, with deliberate unkindness described as rare. For parents, the practical implication is a school day that is more likely to feel orderly than chaotic, and where minor issues should be dealt with through a known system rather than ad hoc decisions.

There is also an inclusion story that is not an add-on. Jubilee has a specialist, resourced provision for speech, language and communication needs, and earlier external reporting refers to this as the Communication and Interaction Centre (COIN Centre). This is important context: even if your child is not in specialist provision, a school that has built in expertise around communication, routines, and targeted support often brings those habits into mainstream classrooms.

Jubilee’s headline academic picture, based on FindMySchool’s proprietary ranking using official data, is below England average at GCSE level. It is ranked 2,767th in England and 4th in the Addlestone area for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking).

On the core metrics, Attainment 8 is 43 and Progress 8 is -0.24. The Progress 8 figure indicates students make below-average progress from their starting points compared with similar pupils nationally. (These figures are best interpreted together: Attainment 8 describes overall attainment, while Progress 8 indicates whether pupils are doing better or worse than expected given their prior attainment.)

The EBacc detail helps explain the curriculum balance. The school’s average EBacc points score is 3.51, below the England average of 4.08. This aligns with the school’s stated priority to increase EBacc uptake while still protecting access to artistic, technical and creative GCSE choices.

What does that mean for families? If you want a strongly academic, EBacc-heavy pathway for most pupils, you should ask direct questions about current EBacc entry policy and how the school guides option choices. If your child is motivated by the arts, performance, or a wider choice set at Key Stage 4, Jubilee’s stated approach may feel more aligned.

The most distinctive academic reference point is the “rainforest curriculum” language. In practice, the March 2024 report links this to systematic sequencing of knowledge and skills from Years 7 to 11, coupled with staff training and routine checks on how teacher expertise translates into pupil achievement. That is the right direction of travel for a school working to raise consistency: tight curriculum design, then high-quality enactment, then relentless checking of impact.

Classroom practice is described as generally well structured, with teachers often checking prior understanding before introducing new material. The report also notes that this is not yet consistent in every lesson, and that where the match between explanation and pupil need is weaker, attention can drift for some pupils. The implication is that teaching quality is improving but variable, which is typical of schools that are strengthening systems rather than relying on pockets of excellence.

Literacy is treated as a whole-school priority. Systems are described for checking reading skills, with bespoke support to help pupils read more accurately and fluently where needed. For families, this is a concrete reassurance if your child is entering Year 7 below age-related expectation in reading, or if confidence with reading has dipped during the transition from primary.

Jubilee is an 11–16 school, so the key destination decision is post-16. The current published destination data in the provided dataset is not available, so the most reliable insight comes from the school’s emphasis on personal development and careers education. The March 2024 report describes careers and personal development provision as high quality, building confidence, resilience, and independent learning skills, with the intent of preparing pupils well for education or employment pathways after Year 11.

A practical approach for parents is to ask the school, during open events or a call with the careers lead, how guidance works in Year 9 and Year 11, how employer encounters are organised, and what typical pathways look like locally (sixth form, further education colleges, apprenticeships, and training providers). If comparing options, FindMySchool’s Local Hub tools can help you review nearby schools’ performance side-by-side, then you can triangulate what outcomes look like for similar intakes.

Year 7 entry for Surrey residents is coordinated by Surrey County Council. For September 2026 starters, applications opened on 01 September 2025 and the on-time closing date was 31 October 2025. Late applications remain possible but are treated differently by the local authority.

Demand is meaningful. Surrey’s published booklet shows a Year 7 PAN of 150 and 347 preferences for the 2025 admissions round. On the same Surrey publication, the 2025 allocation information records a distance of 4.700 km for the last allocated place under the final criterion, with the usual caveat that distances and thresholds vary annually depending on where applicants live and how preferences fall. Families who are relying on distance should use FindMySchoolMap Search to check home-to-school distance precisely and treat historical cut-offs as a guide rather than a promise.

The published oversubscription criteria for 2026 prioritise looked-after and previously looked-after children, then exceptional medical or social circumstances, then siblings, then all other children.

Pastoral care is identified as a strength, with systems designed to promote attendance and reduce behaviour incidents, including a reported drop in suspensions in the current inspection year. The broader message is that staff work hard to keep pupils in learning rather than escalating quickly to exclusionary outcomes.

Support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and disabilities is also described as improving, with a focus on building staff expertise so classroom teachers can address needs more consistently. For parents, the right question is less “is there support?” and more “how is support delivered day-to-day?”; for example, whether adjustments are embedded in teaching, how interventions are timetabled, and how communication with families works.

Jubilee’s wider offer is best understood through three strands that show up repeatedly in formal reporting.

First, performing arts is repeatedly named as an area of strength, alongside English and physical education. That points to a school where performance is not a niche activity for a small group, but part of the school’s identity. In earlier inspection reporting, students’ confidence was linked to performance experiences in the school theatre. For a child who comes alive on stage, this can be a genuine motivator that spills into attendance, friendships, and self-belief in lessons.

Second, pupil leadership and peer support appear as practical, named structures. An earlier inspection referenced student literacy leaders in each class and a student-run “S.O.S.” group for younger pupils who have worries. These details are older, so families should verify what is current, but they give a useful signal about how the school has historically tried to build responsibility and peer-to-peer support into daily life.

Third, enrichment and trips are presented as part of a broad curriculum. Earlier inspection reporting described visits to museums and theatres, and residential trips, as well as reward-linked experiences such as graduation ceremonies for Year 7 and breakfasts with year heads. The implication is a school that uses structured events to create milestones, particularly around transition into secondary.

Jubilee is a state school, there are no tuition fees. Expect the usual associated costs such as uniform, trips, and optional activities; these vary by year group and should be confirmed directly with the school.

School-day start and finish times, plus any breakfast or after-school provision, were not available from the accessible official sources used for this review, so families should check the school’s published information or ask directly. The school serves local communities in and around Addlestone within Surrey’s coordinated admissions system.

• Academic outcomes. GCSE outcomes sit below England average on the FindMySchool ranking, and Progress 8 is negative. If your child needs rapid academic catch-up, ask how targeted intervention is organised and how progress is monitored for middle and higher prior attainers.

• EBacc pathway. The EBacc points profile is below the England average and the school acknowledges EBacc uptake has been low. If you want a strongly academic language and humanities pathway, check how options are guided and what is changing.

• Competitive entry. With 347 preferences for 150 places in the 2025 cycle, admission is competitive, and the 2025 distance cut-off recorded in Surrey’s booklet was 4.700 km under the final criterion. Distances and thresholds vary each year, so treat historic distances as context rather than a guarantee.

• Consistency in teaching. Teaching is described as usually well structured, but not consistently so in every lesson. Some pupils can disengage where explanations do not match needs closely enough, so families should probe how lesson quality is being standardised across departments.

Jubilee High School is a comprehensive with a clear improvement narrative: strong relationships, a structured curriculum ambition, and particular strength in performing arts and personal development. The academic picture is more mixed, with outcomes below England average and a negative Progress 8, so the best fit depends on the child.

It suits families who value an orderly, supportive culture, who want a broad Key Stage 4 offer alongside rising expectations, and whose child is likely to benefit from strong pastoral systems and a confidence-building wider curriculum. Securing entry can be challenging, and families should treat distance data as a moving target year to year.