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Best secondary schools in Hertfordshire

73 of 86 secondary schools ranked by Progress 8 · all Hertfordshire schools · primary schools

Ranked on Progress 8, 2023/24 — the most recent year each school has published. Official data, not our opinion — but the ranking is only as good as the measure, and a single number never describes a school.

# School Progress 8 Ofsted Places Catchment
1 Sandringham School St Albans 1.06 Outstanding oversubscribed 1.45 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
2 Yavneh College Borehamwood 0.97 Good undersubscribed 0.83 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
3 Dame Alice Owen's School Potters Bar 0.92 Outstanding oversubscribed 1.78 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
4 Beaumont School St Albans 0.89 Not judged oversubscribed 1.28 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
5 Roundwood Park School Harpenden 0.79 Outstanding oversubscribed 1.17 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
6 Sir John Lawes School Harpenden 0.79 Outstanding oversubscribed 1.39 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
7 Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School St Albans 0.75 Outstanding improving about even 1.14 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
8 Parmiter's School Watford 0.74 Outstanding oversubscribed 2.37 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
9 St Clement Danes School Rickmansworth 0.74 Outstanding oversubscribed 1.28 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
10 Watford Grammar School for Girls Watford 0.74 Outstanding oversubscribed 1.77 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
11 The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School Stevenage 0.72 Good oversubscribed 1.32 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
12 Watford Grammar School for Boys Watford 0.72 Outstanding oversubscribed 1.88 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
13 Loreto College St Albans 0.71 Not judged about even 0.88 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
14 St George's School Harpenden 0.65 Not judged oversubscribed 1.38 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
15 The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College Bishop's Stortford 0.65 Outstanding oversubscribed 1.2 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
16 Hitchin Girls' School Hitchin 0.62 Not judged oversubscribed 1.27 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
17 Presdales School Ware 0.61 Outstanding about even 1.1 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
18 Freman College Buntingford 0.58 Good — approximate
19 Hitchin Boys' School Hitchin 0.57 Outstanding oversubscribed 1.17 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
20 St Albans Girls' School St Albans 0.55 Not judged about even 0.9 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
21 The Chauncy School Ware 0.53 Outstanding improving about even 1.1 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
22 Katherine Warington School Harpenden 0.48 Good undersubscribed 0.84 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
23 St Mary's Catholic School Bishop's Stortford 0.43 Not judged undersubscribed 0.81 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
24 Verulam School St Albans hidden gem 0.4 Good undersubscribed 0.43 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
25 Bishop's Hatfield Girls' School Hatfield 0.38 Outstanding oversubscribed 1.37 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
26 Hockerill Anglo-European College Bishop's Stortford 0.38 Good oversubscribed 2.49 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
27 The Nobel School Stevenage 0.38 Good improving about even 0.92 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
28 Goffs - Churchgate Academy Waltham Cross 0.37 Good undersubscribed 0.83 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
29 Ashlyns School Berkhamsted 0.36 Good improving about even 1.1 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
30 Chancellor's School Hatfield 0.35 Good about even 1.08 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
31 Saint Joan of Arc Catholic School Rickmansworth hidden gem 0.34 Good undersubscribed 0.74 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
32 Richard Hale School Hertford 0.31 Good about even 1.12 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
33 Rickmansworth School Rickmansworth 0.3 Outstanding improving oversubscribed 1.23 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
34 Monk's Walk School Welwyn Garden City 0.24 Good about even 1.03 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
35 Tring School Tring 0.24 Good oversubscribed 1.17 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
36 The Bishop's Stortford High School Bishop's Stortford 0.23 Outstanding oversubscribed 1.61 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
37 Goffs Academy Waltham Cross 0.22 Good oversubscribed 1.17 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
38 Queens' School Bushey 0.2 Not judged oversubscribed 1.68 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
39 Stanborough School Welwyn Garden City 0.18 Good improving about even 1.08 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
40 Barclay Academy Stevenage hidden gem 0.17 Good undersubscribed 0.76 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
41 John F Kennedy Catholic School Hemel Hempstead 0.15 Good about even 0.97 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
42 Townsend Church of England School St Albans hidden gem 0.14 Good improving undersubscribed 0.48 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
43 Saint Michael's Catholic High School Watford 0.13 Not judged about even 1.08 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
44 Robert Barclay Academy Hoddesdon 0.11 Good improving about even 0.88 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
45 Croxley Danes School Rickmansworth 0.1 Good undersubscribed 0.79 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
46 The Broxbourne School Broxbourne 0.1 Outstanding improving oversubscribed 1.61 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
47 Kings Langley School Kings Langley 0.07 Good about even 0.86 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
48 Leventhorpe Sawbridgeworth 0.05 Good declining about even 0.94 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
49 The Thomas Alleyne Academy Stevenage 0.04 Good about even 1.01 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
50 The Reach Free School Rickmansworth -0.02 Good undersubscribed 0.77 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
51 Westfield Academy Watford -0.03 Not judged undersubscribed 0.51 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
52 Haileybury Turnford Waltham Cross hidden gem -0.05 Good undersubscribed 0.77 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
53 The Priory School Hitchin hidden gem -0.05 Good undersubscribed 0.74 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
54 St Mary's Church of England High School (VA) Waltham Cross hidden gem -0.07 Good undersubscribed 0.6 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
55 Birchwood High School Bishop's Stortford -0.08 Not judged improving undersubscribed 0.55 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
56 The Marlborough Science Academy St Albans -0.1 Good undersubscribed 0.77 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
57 Fearnhill School Letchworth -0.14 Good about even 0.88 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
58 The Hemel Hempstead School Hemel Hempstead -0.14 Good oversubscribed 1.24 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
59 Future Academies Watford Watford -0.16 Not judged undersubscribed 0.38 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
60 Hertswood Academy Borehamwood -0.19 Not judged undersubscribed 0.79 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
61 Laureate Academy Hemel Hempstead hidden gem -0.22 Good undersubscribed 0.23 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
62 The Sele School Hertford -0.26 Not judged declining undersubscribed 0.6 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
63 The Knights Templar School Baldock -0.27 Good about even 0.99 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
64 Longdean School Hemel Hempstead -0.29 Good about even 1.09 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
65 The Grange Academy Bushey -0.29 Not judged undersubscribed 0.31 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
66 Barnwell School Stevenage hidden gem -0.32 Good undersubscribed 0.48 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
67 Onslow St Audrey's School Hatfield hidden gem -0.36 Good undersubscribed 0.48 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
68 Marriotts School Stevenage -0.37 Good oversubscribed 1.34 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
69 Bushey Meads School Bushey -0.45 Not judged undersubscribed 0.46 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
70 Ridgeway Academy Welwyn Garden City -0.47 Not judged undersubscribed 0.59 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
71 The Astley Cooper School Hemel Hempstead -0.6 Good about even 0.92 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
72 Elstree Screen Arts Academy Borehamwood -0.79 Not judged improving — approximate
73 The Adeyfield Academy Hemel Hempstead -0.97 Good about even 0.97 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate

Also in Hertfordshire

13 further secondary schools with no published Progress 8 for the latest year — usually too small a cohort to report, newly opened, or a special school. Listed because leaving them out would make this a misleading picture of Hertfordshire, not a fairer one.

Applying in Hertfordshire

Knowing which school is best is only half of it — these are the deadlines that decide whether you can apply at all.

Rankings compare published results. They do not tell you which school your child will get into — that depends on where you live, sibling and faith priority, and how many people apply this year. Ask below, or check the Hertfordshire admission criteria.

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