Hertswood Academy

About Hertswood Academy

Hertswood Academy has turned a corner. In its most recent Ofsted inspection, the school was judged Good across all five graded categories — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. That marks a clear improvement from its previous inspection in 2022, when it was rated Requires Improvement overall. The most telling academic metric is Progress 8, which measures how much pupils improve between the end of primary school and GCSEs compared with pupils nationally. Hertswood’s Progress 8 score sits at -0.19, which is below the local authority average of 0.18 but still places the school in the national ‘Average’ banding. In the Hertsmere local authority, it ranks third out of six schools on this measure, and nationally it sits around the 63rd percentile. The school’s Attainment 8 score is 38.9, and just over half of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths.

At A-level, the story is more encouraging. Hertswood’s sixth form has a value-added score of 0.26, which is rated ‘Above average’ — meaning students typically leave with better results than their prior attainment would predict. The average points per entry is 31.92, equivalent to a C+ grade, and the best three A-levels average out at a C+ as well. Only 4.2 per cent of entries achieved AAB or higher, but with 53 students in the cohort, the sixth form is relatively small. The school offers a broad curriculum, with 46.8 per cent of Key Stage 4 pupils entered for the EBacc suite of subjects. However, only 10.4 per cent achieved the full EBacc at grade 5 or above. In maths, Progress 8 is slightly positive at 0.13, while English and open subjects lag behind at -0.33 and -0.45 respectively.

The school is large, with 1,173 pupils against a capacity of 1,861, and it was not oversubscribed for 2025/26 entry — 120 first-preference applications for 206 places. A third of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. Facilities include a swimming pool, gymnasium, playing fields, music rooms and a chapel. The school lists a wide range of SEND provisions, covering dyslexia, autism, speech and language needs, and physical disabilities. Parent views are mixed: 54 per cent would recommend the school, but only 26 per cent of the 71 respondents agreed that SEND children get the support they need, and just 41 per cent felt bullying is dealt with effectively. This is a school that has improved rapidly on paper but still has work to do in winning over some families.

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