State secondary schools in Hertfordshire

80 schools · East of England · 2024/25 Department for Education figures

Hertfordshire has 80 state secondaries, 79 of them with sixth forms. 77.5% of families got their first choice last year, worse than most of England. Results run from 20.5% to 87.5% passing English and maths, a spread of 67 points, with a middle school at 52.5%, above England's 45.4%.

Of those Ofsted has graded, 17 rated Outstanding, 41 Good, 1 Requires improvement, 1 Inadequate. 20 schools carry no overall grade at all — either inspected since Ofsted stopped issuing one in September 2024, or never inspected.

80 schools in Hertfordshire. Tap one, or see the full list.
21% 88% passed English & maths no figure

Hertfordshire against England

State-funded schools, 2024/25

53%

Passed English & maths grade 5 or above

8% above England

England 45%

50.6

Attainment 8 average score

4.5 above England

England 46.1

18%

Persistently absent missed 10% of sessions

3.3% below England

England 21%

Getting a place

2026/27 secondary admissions round, across Hertfordshire

77.5%

Got their first choiceof those who applied

England 84%

92.4%

Got one of their threefirst, second or third

0.1%

Got no offer at allfrom any preference

18%

Appeals upheld92 of 515 heard

These are figures for Hertfordshire as a whole. A popular school can be much harder to get into than the average suggests, and the criteria that decide it are set by each school's own admission authority rather than centrally. How applying works

How much the choice matters here

Across Hertfordshire's 79 schools, the share passing English and maths runs from 21% to 88%. That is a spread of 67 percentage points, wider than most councils.

The typical council spans about 48 points. Where schools are close together the school a child gets matters less; where they are far apart it matters a great deal. The widest spreads are all selective areas, where grammar schools sit at one end and everything else at the other.

Hertfordshire schools, subject by subject

The share reaching grade 4 or above, among schools entering at least 20 pupils. Which pupils take a subject differs a lot between schools, so read this as what happened rather than as a ranking of teaching.

  1. 1 Sandringham School St Albans · 34 entries 100%
  2. 2 The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School Stevenage · 50 entries 98%
  3. 3 Beaumont School St Albans · 44 entries 98%
  4. 4 The Broxbourne School Broxbourne · 41 entries 98%
  5. 5 Dame Alice Owen's School Potters Bar · 31 entries 97%
  6. 6 Freman College Buntingford · 40 entries 95%
  7. 7 Watford Grammar School for Girls Watford · 59 entries 95%
  8. 8 Yavneh College Borehamwood · 55 entries 95%
  9. 9 Sir John Lawes School Harpenden · 44 entries 93%
  10. 10 Goffs Academy Waltham Cross · 27 entries 93%
  11. 11 Barclay Academy Stevenage · 23 entries 91%
  12. 12 St Clement Danes School Rickmansworth · 41 entries 90%
  13. 13 Parmiter's School Watford · 59 entries 90%
  14. 14 Ashlyns School Berkhamsted · 29 entries 90%
  15. 15 Richard Hale School Hertford · 63 entries 87%
  16. 16 Watford Grammar School for Boys Watford · 96 entries 86%
  17. 17 St Albans Girls' School St Albans · 22 entries 86%
  18. 18 Hitchin Boys' School Hitchin · 36 entries 86%
  19. 19 Birchwood High School Bishop's Stortford · 35 entries 86%
  20. 20 Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School St Albans · 21 entries 86%
  21. 21 Rickmansworth School Rickmansworth · 42 entries 85%
  22. 22 The Bishop's Stortford High School Bishop's Stortford · 25 entries 84%
  23. 23 The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College Bishop's Stortford · 25 entries 84%
  24. 24 Saint Joan of Arc Catholic School Rickmansworth · 24 entries 83%
  25. 25 Queens' School Bushey · 46 entries 83%
  26. 26 The Reach Free School Rickmansworth · 39 entries 82%
  27. 27 St George's School Harpenden · 25 entries 80%
  28. 28 Bishop's Hatfield Girls' School Hatfield · 34 entries 76%
  29. 29 The Knights Templar School Baldock · 27 entries 74%
  30. 30 Simon Balle All-Through School Hertford · 28 entries 71%
  31. 31 Chancellor's School Hatfield · 28 entries 71%
  32. 32 Samuel Ryder Academy St Albans · 37 entries 70%
  33. 33 Stanborough School Welwyn Garden City · 34 entries 68%
  34. 34 Katherine Warington School Harpenden · 45 entries 67%
  35. 35 Verulam School St Albans · 36 entries 67%
  36. 36 Croxley Danes School Rickmansworth · 37 entries 65%
  37. 37 The Chauncy School Ware · 22 entries 64%
  38. 38 The Highfield School Letchworth Garden City · 24 entries 63%
  39. 39 The Thomas Alleyne Academy Stevenage · 26 entries 62%
  40. 40 John F Kennedy Catholic School Hemel Hempstead · 39 entries 62%
  41. 41 Onslow St Audrey's School Hatfield · 49 entries 61%
  42. 42 Monk's Walk School Welwyn Garden City · 36 entries 61%
  43. 43 The Hemel Hempstead School Hemel Hempstead · 23 entries 61%
  44. 44 The Nobel School Stevenage · 20 entries 60%
  45. 45 Leventhorpe Sawbridgeworth · 20 entries 60%
  46. 46 The Astley Cooper School Hemel Hempstead · 34 entries 59%
  47. 47 Tring School Tring · 36 entries 53%
  48. 48 The Grange Academy Bushey · 25 entries 48%
  49. 49 St Mary's Church of England High School (VA) Waltham Cross · 23 entries 48%
  50. 50 Westfield Academy Watford · 36 entries 44%
  51. 51 Future Academies Watford Watford · 39 entries 44%
  52. 52 Longdean School Hemel Hempstead · 61 entries 43%
  53. 53 The Marlborough Science Academy St Albans · 29 entries 38%
  54. 54 The Adeyfield Academy Hemel Hempstead · 24 entries 17%
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Every school in Hertfordshire

Schools in neighbouring authorities are not in this list, because admissions run per authority. See bordering areas.

21 of 79 have no spare places. Sort the list, or narrow it first.

  • Ashlyns School Berkhamsted · Good.
    Eng & maths
    71%
    Attainment 8
    57.9
    Absence
    18%
  • Avanti Grange Secondary School Bishops Stortford · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    Attainment 8
    Absence
    11%
  • Barclay Academy Stevenage · Good.
    Eng & maths
    57%
    Attainment 8
    49.5
    Absence
    20%
  • Barnwell School Stevenage · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    37%
    Attainment 8
    41.5
    Absence
    29%
  • Beaumont School St Albans · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    74%
    Attainment 8
    62.6
    Absence
    7%
  • Birchwood High School Bishop's Stortford · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    42%
    Attainment 8
    46.1
    Absence
    25%
  • Bishop's Hatfield Girls' School Hatfield · Outstanding.
    Eng & maths
    55%
    Attainment 8
    51.9
    Absence
    17%
  • Bushey Meads School Bushey · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    41%
    Attainment 8
    43.6
    Absence
    32%
  • Chancellor's School Hatfield · Good.
    Eng & maths
    47%
    Attainment 8
    47.6
    Absence
    22%
  • Croxley Danes School Rickmansworth · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    50%
    Attainment 8
    51.3
    Absence
    17%
  • Dame Alice Owen's School Potters Bar · Outstanding. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    88%
    Attainment 8
    72.9
    Absence
    7%
  • Elstree Screen Arts Academy Borehamwood · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    32%
    Attainment 8
    39.1
    Absence
    33%
  • Fearnhill School Letchworth · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    27%
    Attainment 8
    38.9
    Absence
    32%
  • Freman College Buntingford · Good.
    Eng & maths
    53%
    Attainment 8
    53.1
    Absence
    19%
  • Future Academies Watford Watford · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    32%
    Attainment 8
    39.8
    Absence
    25%
  • Goffs - Churchgate Academy Waltham Cross · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    33%
    Attainment 8
    42.6
    Absence
    26%
  • Goffs Academy Waltham Cross · Good. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    49%
    Attainment 8
    49.1
    Absence
    15%
  • Gracewood Academy Potters Bar · Requires improvement.
    Eng & maths
    27%
    Attainment 8
    36.1
    Absence
  • Haileybury Turnford Waltham Cross · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    37%
    Attainment 8
    43.3
    Absence
    21%
  • Hertswood Academy Borehamwood · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    27%
    Attainment 8
    38.3
    Absence
    29%
  • Hitchin Boys' School Hitchin · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    67%
    Attainment 8
    57.1
    Absence
    10%
  • Hitchin Girls' School Hitchin · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    69%
    Attainment 8
    57.8
    Absence
    14%
  • Hockerill Anglo-European College Bishop's Stortford · Good. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    73%
    Attainment 8
    61.7
    Absence
    12%
  • John F Kennedy Catholic School Hemel Hempstead · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    55%
    Attainment 8
    47.9
    Absence
    15%
  • Katherine Warington School Harpenden · Good.
    Eng & maths
    60%
    Attainment 8
    54.8
    Absence
    16%
  • Eng & maths
    34%
    Attainment 8
    40.3
    Absence
    18%
  • Kings Langley School Kings Langley · Good.
    Eng & maths
    53%
    Attainment 8
    48.6
    Absence
    25%
  • Laureate Academy Hemel Hempstead · Good.
    Eng & maths
    39%
    Attainment 8
    41.7
    Absence
    34%
  • Leventhorpe Sawbridgeworth · Good.
    Eng & maths
    47%
    Attainment 8
    49.6
    Absence
    19%
  • Longdean School Hemel Hempstead · Good.
    Eng & maths
    35%
    Attainment 8
    42.4
    Absence
    22%
  • Loreto College St Albans · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    59%
    Attainment 8
    58.3
    Absence
    17%
  • Marriotts School Stevenage · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    39%
    Attainment 8
    42.4
    Absence
    25%
  • Monk's Walk School Welwyn Garden City · Good. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    52%
    Attainment 8
    50.8
    Absence
    20%
  • Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School St Albans · Outstanding. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    65%
    Attainment 8
    56.4
    Absence
    9%
  • Onslow St Audrey's School Hatfield · Good.
    Eng & maths
    24%
    Attainment 8
    36.6
    Absence
    32%
  • Parmiter's School Watford · Outstanding.
    Eng & maths
    81%
    Attainment 8
    66.5
    Absence
    17%
  • Presdales School Ware · Outstanding. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    70%
    Attainment 8
    58.9
    Absence
    17%
  • Queens' School Bushey · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    68%
    Attainment 8
    57.5
    Absence
    12%
  • Richard Hale School Hertford · Good.
    Eng & maths
    66%
    Attainment 8
    56.3
    Absence
    12%
  • Rickmansworth School Rickmansworth · Outstanding.
    Eng & maths
    81%
    Attainment 8
    61.2
    Absence
    10%
  • Ridgeway Academy Welwyn Garden City · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    25%
    Attainment 8
    35.7
    Absence
    28%
  • Robert Barclay Academy Hoddesdon · Good.
    Eng & maths
    39%
    Attainment 8
    44.2
    Absence
    23%
  • Roundwood Park School Harpenden · Outstanding. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    67%
    Attainment 8
    59.5
    Absence
    14%
  • Saint Joan of Arc Catholic School Rickmansworth · Good.
    Eng & maths
    56%
    Attainment 8
    50.6
    Absence
    23%
  • Saint Michael's Catholic High School Watford · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    50%
    Attainment 8
    50.9
    Absence
    17%
  • Samuel Ryder Academy St Albans · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    70%
    Attainment 8
    56.5
    Absence
    17%
  • Sandringham School St Albans · Outstanding. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    84%
    Attainment 8
    65.1
    Absence
    10%
  • Simon Balle All-Through School Hertford · Outstanding.
    Eng & maths
    64%
    Attainment 8
    55.4
    Absence
    10%
  • Sir John Lawes School Harpenden · Outstanding. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    76%
    Attainment 8
    62.8
    Absence
    7%
  • St Albans Girls' School St Albans · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    70%
    Attainment 8
    58.8
    Absence
    17%
  • St Clement Danes School Rickmansworth · Outstanding.
    Eng & maths
    84%
    Attainment 8
    65.1
    Absence
    11%
  • St George's School Harpenden · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    77%
    Attainment 8
    63.7
    Absence
    12%
  • St Mary's Catholic School Bishop's Stortford · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    66%
    Attainment 8
    57.6
    Absence
    15%
  • Eng & maths
    41%
    Attainment 8
    45
    Absence
    25%
  • Stanborough School Welwyn Garden City · Good.
    Eng & maths
    53%
    Attainment 8
    47.9
    Absence
    10%
  • The Adeyfield Academy Hemel Hempstead · Good.
    Eng & maths
    22%
    Attainment 8
    35.1
    Absence
    27%
  • The Astley Cooper School Hemel Hempstead · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    27%
    Attainment 8
    34.7
    Absence
    36%
  • The Bishop's Stortford High School Bishop's Stortford · Outstanding.
    Eng & maths
    69%
    Attainment 8
    60.2
    Absence
    11%
  • The Broxbourne School Broxbourne · Outstanding. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    67%
    Attainment 8
    55.4
    Absence
    13%
  • The Chauncy School Ware · Outstanding. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    46%
    Attainment 8
    49.5
    Absence
    19%
  • The Grange Academy Bushey · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    32%
    Attainment 8
    41.3
    Absence
    23%
  • The Hemel Hempstead School Hemel Hempstead · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    51%
    Attainment 8
    49.9
    Absence
    18%
  • The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College Bishop's Stortford · Outstanding. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    76%
    Attainment 8
    63.6
    Absence
    13%
  • The Highfield School Letchworth Garden City · Good.
    Eng & maths
    40%
    Attainment 8
    41.7
    Absence
    28%
  • The John Warner School Hoddesdon · Inadequate.
    Eng & maths
    33%
    Attainment 8
    40.8
    Absence
    28%
  • Eng & maths
    46%
    Attainment 8
    48.5
    Absence
    15%
  • The Marlborough Science Academy St Albans · Good. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    36%
    Attainment 8
    43.4
    Absence
    25%
  • The Nobel School Stevenage · Good.
    Eng & maths
    47%
    Attainment 8
    50.2
    Absence
    20%
  • The Priory School Hitchin · Good.
    Eng & maths
    49%
    Attainment 8
    48.5
    Absence
    18%
  • The Reach Free School Rickmansworth · Good.
    Eng & maths
    35%
    Attainment 8
    44.2
    Absence
    28%
  • The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School Stevenage · Good. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    64%
    Attainment 8
    57.9
    Absence
    13%
  • The Sele School Hertford · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    21%
    Attainment 8
    35.7
    Absence
    36%
  • The Thomas Alleyne Academy Stevenage · Good.
    Eng & maths
    53%
    Attainment 8
    48
    Absence
    20%
  • Eng & maths
    40%
    Attainment 8
    46.7
    Absence
    30%
  • Tring School Tring · Good.
    Eng & maths
    54%
    Attainment 8
    50.5
    Absence
    24%
  • Verulam School St Albans · Good.
    Eng & maths
    55%
    Attainment 8
    52.5
    Absence
    18%
  • Watford Grammar School for Boys Watford · Inspected under the current report card, which gives no overall grade. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    83%
    Attainment 8
    68.9
    Absence
    12%
  • Watford Grammar School for Girls Watford · Outstanding. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    83%
    Attainment 8
    68.2
    Absence
    14%
  • Westfield Academy Watford · Inspected, after Ofsted stopped issuing a single overall grade.
    Eng & maths
    39%
    Attainment 8
    41.4
    Absence
    23%
  • Yavneh College Borehamwood · Good. · no spare places
    Eng & maths
    75%
    Attainment 8
    61.6
    Absence
    11%

Pick up to 4 schools to see them side by side in the comparison tool, subject by subject.

Sixth form · Key stage 5·2024/25

A levels in Hertfordshire

74 of Hertfordshire's 79 sixth forms publish A level results. Ranked on the share reaching AAB or better in at least two of the subjects universities name, which is the measure the steepest entry requirements are written in.

Sixth form Grade AAB+

A level results only. A sixth form running mostly BTECs and other applied courses will show a dash here and can still be the right one — those are graded on their own scale, where a distinction and an A grade carry the same points and mean different things.

Bordering Hertfordshire

Near a boundary, schools on both sides are usually in reach. Whether a child can apply is set by each school's admission criteria, not by the border.

What these mean

Attainment 8
The average pupil's total score across eight GCSE-equivalent subjects, with English and maths counting double. It is scored out of 90. A score of 50 is roughly equivalent to achieving a grade 5 across eight subjects.
Grades 4 and 5
GCSEs are graded from 9 down to 1. Grade 4 is a standard pass and broadly corresponds to the old grade C; grade 5 is what the government calls a strong pass. Grade 7 is broadly equivalent to an old grade A.
Persistent absence
The share of pupils who miss at least 10% of their possible sessions during the school year. This includes both authorised and unauthorised absence, so illness and other authorised reasons are included. Persistent absence has remained substantially higher than its pre-pandemic level.
First preference
The share of families who were offered the school they ranked first on their application, on national offer day in March. This figure is calculated across the relevant schools or admissions authority, so a high overall figure does not necessarily mean that every individual school is easy to get into.
Spare places
The amount of available capacity a school has compared with the number of pupils on roll. This is different from oversubscription: spare places measure whether a school has capacity, whereas oversubscription describes demand for places exceeding the number available. A school with no spare places may be popular, but a small school can also be full without receiving a large number of applications.
Average A-level grade
The average grade achieved across students' A-level entries. This is different from measures such as the proportion achieving AAB or better in two or more facilitating subjects, which are sometimes used to indicate higher attainment and university-entry performance.
Covers state-funded schools in England; independent schools are not included, and neither the list nor the subject figures above take account of them.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Key stage 4 performance and school characteristics: Department for Education, 2024/25. Inspection outcomes: Ofsted.