Dame Alice Owen's School

About Dame Alice Owen's School

Dame Alice Owen’s School is one of those rare state secondaries where demand far outstrips supply, and the numbers tell you exactly why. For entry in 2025/26, the school received 707 applications for 191 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.7. Of those, 316 put it as their first preference, and 176 first-preference offers were made. That level of competition is a strong signal in itself, but it’s backed up by parent satisfaction: in its most recent Ofsted inspection, the school was rated Outstanding across every category, including behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership. The inspection report, published in January 2024, noted that the school continues to hold the highest grade it first achieved in 2009. For parents weighing up options, the combination of sustained excellence and fierce demand suggests a school that local families trust implicitly.

Academically, the school is comfortably among the strongest in the East of England. Its Progress 8 score of 0.92 is rated well above average, meaning pupils typically achieve nearly a grade more per subject than similar students nationally. That’s a full 0.74 points above the Hertfordshire local authority average of 0.18. At GCSE, 93.3% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, and the average Attainment 8 score was 73.5. The EBacc average point score of 7.04 reflects strong take-up and performance across the core academic subjects, with 77.1% of pupils entered for the full EBacc. At A-level, the school’s average points per entry was 47.01, equivalent to an A- grade, and 47.4% of entries were graded AAB or higher. The value-added score of 0.16 is above average, and the progress banding for sixth form is rated above average too.

The school is housed in a purpose-built site with a theatre, astro turf, tennis courts, a sixth form centre, and an ICT suite, and it offers a wide range of extracurricular activities including rowing, martial arts, coding, and a newspaper club. Its SEND provision covers seven areas, including dyslexia, autistic spectrum disorder, and speech, language and communication needs, so it’s equipped to support a range of additional needs. With 1,468 pupils on roll against a capacity of 1,416, the school is technically over capacity, and only 3.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is well below the national average. This is a high-performing, heavily oversubscribed school that suits families who value strong academic outcomes and a structured, ambitious environment. It’s not an easy school to get into, but for those who secure a place, the data suggests it delivers.

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