Longdean School

About Longdean School

Longdean School sits in Dacorum, Hertfordshire, as one of nine secondary schools in the borough, where it ranks 7th by Progress 8 score. That puts it in the bottom half locally, well behind the top-performing peers in the wider Hertfordshire area — Sandringham School, Yavneh College and Dame Alice Owen's School all post Progress 8 scores above 0.9, while Longdean's is -0.29. Across the whole of Hertfordshire, which has 86 state secondaries, Longdean ranks 62nd. The school is a mixed, non-religious secondary with a sixth form, led by headteacher Ruth Georgiades. It's a large school, with 1,443 pupils against a capacity of 1,500, and more than a quarter of its students (25.9%) are eligible for free school meals, which is notably above the national average. In its most recent Ofsted inspection, carried out in March 2025, inspectors judged that standards were being maintained, and the school retains its overall Good rating — a grade it has held consistently across both its graded inspections.

Academically, Longdean's results sit below the Hertfordshire average. Its Progress 8 score of -0.29 is well behind the local authority average of 0.18, and the school's progress banding is rated 'Below average'. The Attainment 8 score is 42.5, and just over a third of pupils (34.3%) achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths, compared with 63.2% at grade 4 or above. The EBacc average point score is 3.76, with 55.4% of pupils entering the EBacc combination of subjects. At sixth form, the picture is more mixed: the school's value-added score is -0.12, which falls within the 'Average' band, and students achieved an average of 32.57 points per entry, equivalent to a C+ grade. The best three A-levels averaged a B- grade. Parent feedback is broadly positive — 88% of respondents would recommend the school, and 90% agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy there.

The school offers a wide range of facilities including a theatre, music rooms, science labs, a sixth form centre and playing fields. Sports on offer include tennis, netball, rugby and martial arts, while clubs range from chess and debate to coding, gardening and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Longdean has a dedicated resourced provision and supports students with a broad spectrum of SEND needs, including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language difficulties, and physical disabilities. The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 661 applications for 213 places, with 229 first-preference applications and 188 first-preference offers — an oversubscription ratio of 3.1. This is a school that suits families looking for a large, inclusive secondary with strong pastoral support and a sixth form, but those prioritising high academic outcomes may want to compare it against the stronger-performing schools elsewhere in Hertfordshire.

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