Presdales School

About Presdales School

Presdales School is a girls’ secondary in Hertfordshire, a local authority with 26 outstanding-rated schools among its 86 secondary-phase institutions. It sits in East Hertfordshire, where it ranks 2nd out of 10 schools on Progress 8, placing it in the top 25% nationally. The three top-performing peers in the area are Sandringham School, Yavneh College, and Dame Alice Owen’s School, all of which post higher Progress 8 scores, but Presdales holds its own as a strong contender. The nearest outstanding school is The Chauncy School, just 1.7 km away, meaning families in this part of Hertfordshire have several high-performing options within a short distance. Headteacher Matthew Warren leads a school that is oversubscribed by a ratio of 2.65 to 1, with 463 applications for 175 places in the 2025/26 admissions round. Of those, 182 were first-preference applications, and 159 first-preference offers were made, reflecting genuine local demand.

Academically, Presdales delivers results that sit well above the local average. Its Progress 8 score of 0.61 is significantly higher than the Hertfordshire LA average of 0.18, and the school’s banding is rated ‘Well above average’. Attainment 8 sits at 58.8, and 93.1% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths. The EBacc entry rate is high at 82.3%, with 61.7% achieving the EBacc at grade 4 or above. In the sixth form, the school’s value-added score of 0.19 is rated ‘Above average’, and students average a B- grade per entry, with points per entry at 36.94. Ofsted’s most recent inspection in March 2024 gave the school Outstanding across every category: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. That’s a clean sweep, and a clear step up from its previous Outstanding rating in 2008, which had no breakdown for several categories.

The school is well equipped with science labs, a sports hall, music rooms, a sixth-form centre, astro turf, an ICT suite, and a chapel. Sports on offer include badminton, football, rugby, hockey, cross country, gymnastics, and cricket, while clubs range from DofE and Model UN to gardening and Young Enterprise. SEND provision is broad, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. With 9% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the intake is slightly below the national average for disadvantage. This is a school that suits families who want strong academic outcomes in a girls-only setting, with a well-regarded sixth form and a clear track record of high performance. The oversubscription figures suggest it’s a popular choice, so early application is wise.

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