Hampton Hill Junior School Review 2026: High-attaining junior years with strong routines and pupil leadership

This is a three-form entry community junior school serving Years 3 to 6 in Hampton Hill, within Richmond upon Thames. It sits on a well-established site, and the school’s own history notes that the present site opened as a mixed senior school in 1928, with the school’s role and intake evolving over subsequent decades.

The most recent inspection judged the school Good (inspection dates 11 and 12 October 2023), with Good grades across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management; safeguarding arrangements were found to be effective.

Leadership is structured through a federation model. The current headteacher listed on the government’s Get Information About Schools service is Ms Zoe Brittain, and the federation’s published governance statement records her as Federation Headteacher from 01 September 2018; day-to-day leadership at Hampton Hill Junior is supported by a Head of School, Mr Marc Lowery.

The clearest theme is purposeful warmth. The most recent inspection describes a welcoming culture where pupils are happy, safe and well behaved, and where wellbeing is actively prioritised. That “wellbeing in practice” shows up in specific pupil roles: mental health ambassadors and friendship buddies support peers at breaktimes, and the system sounds more like a normalised peer-support layer than a one-off initiative.

Pupil voice is built into routines rather than being bolted on. School council discussions are described as involving all pupils, with children putting forward improvements and voting on decisions. Beyond that, leadership roles are widespread and practical, including monitors for stationery, recycling and librarians, which tends to suit children who like responsibility and structure.

A second defining feature is “learning how to learn”. The school’s Learning Behaviours framework cycles through five strands across the year: Independence, Collaboration, Determination, Reflection, and Adventure. This is more concrete than many values lists, because it anchors expectations in behaviours pupils can practise and name. For families, it often translates into consistent classroom language and a clearer home-school link when discussing effort, resilience, teamwork and curiosity.

There are also small, distinctive details that give the school texture. Older pupils help look after the school’s chickens, with Year 5 and 6 chicken monitors contributing during the school day. It is the kind of responsibility that quietly rewards calm, routine-following pupils, and it creates a talking point that is memorable for children who are less motivated by purely academic rewards.

Because this is a junior school (Years 3 to 6), the key published outcomes relate to Key Stage 2. The performance picture is strong compared with England averages.

In 2024, 79.3% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics combined. The England average was 62%. For parents, that gap is meaningful: it suggests that, across a full cohort, a larger share leave Year 6 secure in the fundamentals needed for a smooth secondary transition. At the higher standard, 31.3% achieved greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics, compared with an England average of 8%, indicating a substantial top end as well as a strong baseline.

Scaled scores reinforce that story. Average scaled scores were 107 in reading, 107 in mathematics, and 109 in grammar, punctuation and spelling, each comfortably above the standardised benchmark.

In FindMySchool’s primary rankings (based on official data), the school ranks 2,484th in England and 27th within Richmond upon Thames. That places it above England average and comfortably within the top quarter of primary outcomes nationally (in England terms), with respectable standing in a high-performing borough.

Curriculum design and sequencing appear to be a strength. The most recent inspection describes a broad and ambitious curriculum across Years 3 to 6, with leaders thinking carefully about the knowledge and skills pupils need over time, and teaching content in a logical order. A concrete example given is the decision to teach fractions before time-telling in Year 3, which helps pupils apply fractional understanding when working with “quarter to” and “half past”.

In practice, this kind of sequencing matters because it reduces the number of children who can perform procedures but do not really understand why they work. It also tends to benefit pupils who are new to the school at Year 3, because a well-mapped progression can make gaps easier to spot and address.

Reading culture looks deliberate rather than assumed. The inspection describes regular reading and highlights “everyone reads in class” sessions, plus a playground library that pupils use at lunchtime. Those are simple mechanisms, but they are the ones that typically move reading from being a “lesson subject” to being a daily habit.

There are also clear improvement points. The inspection notes a recently introduced phonics approach, with staff still getting used to the new programme, and it flags consistency as the next step. It also notes that, at times, some activities do not align as tightly as they should with the intended curriculum, which is a reminder that strong intent still needs careful task design.

Support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities is described as effective, with staff understanding pupils’ needs and breaking learning into manageable steps. Separately, the inspection identifies a specially resourced provision called The Garrick Garden, designed for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs, with places for up to six pupils aged 7 to 11. For families, that matters because it signals both capacity and expertise for children who need a more structured, therapeutic approach within a mainstream setting.

As a junior school, the main transition point is Year 6 to Year 7. Families typically look at a mix of local comprehensive schools and selective or independent options, depending on preference and aptitude. The school places emphasis on transition, and its wider partnership working with Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 3 schools is described as supporting progression across phases.

For most children, the practical question is readiness: secure literacy and numeracy, confident learning behaviours, and the organisational skills needed for a larger secondary timetable. The Learning Behaviours framework, particularly independence and reflection, maps closely onto the demands of Year 7, where pupils need to manage equipment, deadlines and shifting expectations between subjects.

Parents shortlisting secondaries can use FindMySchool’s Local Hub pages to compare likely destination schools side-by-side, and to sense-check travel time and performance context before committing to an application strategy.

Admissions are coordinated through Richmond upon Thames, because this is a community junior school. The school publishes the key Year 3 application dates for September 2026 entry: applications open Monday 01 September 2025; the closing date is Thursday 15 January 2026; the final date for certain late applications (exceptional circumstances and some move-in cases) is Wednesday 11 February 2026; National Offer Day is Thursday 16 April 2026; and parents must accept or decline by Thursday 30 April 2026.

Demand is real. The borough’s admissions guide shows 163 applications for 90 places for Hampton Hill Junior in the relevant year, with offers allocated by proximity to a distance of 2.217 km. Converting that distance gives 1.378 miles, aligning with the local “last place allocated” figure used by families to gauge how tight the boundary can become.

In 2024, the last distance offered was 1.378 miles. Distances vary annually based on applicant distribution; proximity provides priority but does not guarantee a place.

Families thinking in these terms should use the FindMySchool Map Search to measure door-to-gate distance consistently and to sanity-check how that compares with the most recently published allocation distance.

Pastoral support is not presented as a separate department, it is built into pupil systems and staff visibility. The inspection highlights that pupils have staff they can go to if worried, and it describes a wellbeing priority that is visible in peer roles like mental health ambassadors and friendship buddies. That blend matters because children often disclose worries more readily to peers first, and a trained peer-support layer can speed up help-seeking.

Behaviour and learning conditions appear calm and functional. Classrooms are described as calm, with pupils mostly attentive and focused. That is typically a strong indicator for families who want a school day that feels settled rather than reactive, especially for children who are easily distracted by noise or low-level disruption.

Personal development content sounds age-appropriate and specific. By Year 6, pupils have been taught about healthy and unhealthy relationships and the importance of respect and consent. Alongside this, pupils are taught about differences between people, including through curriculum choices such as artists representing different cultures and backgrounds.

Extracurricular life is busy and, importantly, named. The school’s clubs information indicates a termly cycle and includes options such as Chess Club, Sewing Club, Art Club, Basketball, Boundless Arts Musical Theatre, and Baking with Rana, alongside external providers and school-led activities. That variety matters because it gives different “types” of child a route to belonging, whether they are performance-led, practical, sporty, or happiest with a structured hobby.

The inspection adds further detail on the kinds of clubs pupils can access, listing examples such as Spanish, coding, gardening and meditation. For families, it is a useful signal that enrichment is not confined to competitive sport or the usual headline clubs, and that there is space for quieter interests too.

There is also a civic strand that blends enrichment with responsibility. Regular whole-school debates about “big questions” are described as a weekly feature, and Year 6 pupils take part in the Fiver Challenge, testing enterprise skills. These are strong examples of the school trying to translate abstract skills, like persuasion and financial judgement, into lived experiences that children remember.

Residential trips and outings add breadth. The inspection notes that staff aim to ensure all pupils can access experiences including residential trips, and that educational outings include visits to local museums and art galleries. For pupils who find conventional classroom success harder, these “different stage” moments can be where confidence builds fastest.

The school day starts at 8.55am and ends at 3.30pm, with gates opening at 8.40am and registration running 8.55am to 9.10am. The published weekly total is 32.5 hours.

Wraparound care is available through the federation. Breakfast Club runs 7.30am to 8.50am on weekdays during term time, and after-school provision (The Hub) runs 3.30pm to 6pm. The published price for after-school sessions is £14.50 per session.

For travel planning, most families focus on safe, repeatable routines for drop-off and pick-up. Parents weighing this school alongside other juniors can use FindMySchool tools to compare travel time patterns and practicalities alongside results.

• Admission can hinge on distance. In 2024, the last distance offered was 1.378 miles. Distances vary annually based on applicant distribution; proximity provides priority but does not guarantee a place.

• Reading approach is in transition. A new phonics programme has been introduced, and consistency of delivery was identified as an improvement priority. If your child has struggled with early reading, ask how the new approach is being embedded and how intervention is organised.

• A mainstream setting with targeted SEMH support. The Garrick Garden provision (up to six places) suggests additional capacity for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs, but it also indicates that the school is managing a range of needs. Families may want to understand how support works in standard classes as well as within specialist spaces.

• Junior-only structure. Entry at Year 3 is a real change point. This suits children who are ready for a step up from Key Stage 1, but families should consider how transition is handled for those joining from outside the linked infant pathway.

A high-performing junior school with a clear emphasis on learning behaviours, pupil responsibility, and a settled climate for learning. Academic outcomes at Key Stage 2 sit above England averages, and the school combines that with a wellbeing model that includes peer roles and routine debate and enterprise experiences. Best suited to families who want a structured junior phase with strong results and a busy enrichment layer, and who are prepared to plan admissions carefully where distance criteria bite.