Hazel Grove High School

History

Hazel Grove High School was initially built during the post war expansion of secondary education, being built in 1953 as an all boys school with an all girls school being built next to it later in 1961. The two schools were combined into a single comprehensive school in 1973.

The school was inspected by Ofsted in 2018. It was rated as "Requires Improvement".

Due to its "Requires Improvement" rating from the 2018 Ofsted inspection the school started the process of joining a Multi-Academy Trust, officially becoming a part of The Laurus Trust in September 2019.

In 2020 due to the "poor infrastructure" of the building, the Hazel Grove High School Sixth Form was closed temporarily to allow for a full refurbishment of the sixth form facilities. After two years of development the sixth form reopened to students in October 2023 to a new cohort of year 12 students

In 2022, after three years under the Laurus Trust's governance, the school was rated as "Good" by Ofsted.

In 2025, a series of violent incidents and reported cases of bullying emerged at the school. In February 2025 the school claimed that they were taking action after a "very unpleasant" fight which was caught on video at lunchtime. A spokesperson for the school claimed that the incident was being dealt with robustly. In March 2025 an autistic pupil was pulled out of the school by his parents after two years of bullying. The final straw came when a video of him being assaulted by boys from school, one of whom sat on him and started hitting his head, began circulating online. Later in the month it emerged that eighteen individuals in the past two years have filed complaints with local MPs Lisa Smart and Tom Morrison over bullying at the school.

In 2026 the School announced the appointment of Mrs Emma Moroney as the new Head of School.

Governance and leadership

Hazel Grove High School is governed through a multi-academy trust structure under The Laurus Trust, which it formally joined in September 2019. The Trust provides strategic leadership, operational support, and access to shared resources across a network of schools in Greater Manchester. The Laurus Trust's founding school, Cheadle Hulme High School, has been consistently rated "Outstanding" by Ofsted for over a decade.

The Head of School at Hazel Grove High School is Emma Moroney, who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the school, implementation of the curriculum, and student outcomes. She works alongside the Executive Head, Martin Vevers, who plays a wider strategic role across The Laurus Trust's schools.

Ofsted and performance

The school has been the subject of three Ofsted inspections over the past decade:

2018: Rated “Requires Improvement”

2022: Received an overall “Good” rating, with “Outstanding” in personal development, leadership, and sixth form provision

2026: Strong standard in: Inclusion, Leadership and governance, Personal development and wellbeing, and Post-16 provision; with expected standard in: Achievement, Attendance and behaviour, Curriculum and teaching.

The report from the 2022 inspection "highlights how the school provides 'high quality encouragement and support' that is underpinned by a strong culture of 'high ambition' and 'personal development.'"

The school was inspected in April 2026 under Ofsted’s new framework. Inspectors recognised that leaders, trustees and governors share “a clear, ambitious vision for the school” and maintain “uncompromisingly high expectations for all pupils,” particularly in their academic and personal development. The report card shows Safeguarding was confirmed as fully effective and robust, with a culture where pupils feel safe, supported and ready to learn.

Notable alumni

Sarah Harding, singer-songwriter, dancer, model and actress

Steve Penk, radio and television presenter

Tim Scott, instrumental recording artist

Graeme Shimmin, novelist and blogger

Jon Willis, professional fencer

Jon Hallworth, professional footballer