The John Warner School

About The John Warner School

The John Warner School in Broxbourne was rated Inadequate in its most recent Ofsted inspection, a rating that places it among the most challenged state secondaries in Hertfordshire. The school’s Progress 8 score of -0.54 is the most telling single metric here: it means that, on average, pupils achieved more than half a grade lower per subject across eight GCSEs than students with similar starting points nationally. This is classified as well below average, and it sits far behind the Hertfordshire local authority average Progress 8 of +0.18. The school ranks 69th out of 86 state secondaries in the county, and bottom of the seven schools in Broxbourne itself. For context, the nearest Outstanding-rated school is Presdales School, 3.7 kilometres away, while the top-performing local peers include Sandringham School and Yavneh College, both with Progress 8 scores above +0.9.

Looking more closely at the GCSE results from the 2023/24 academic year, the Attainment 8 score stands at 40.7, which is below the national average of around 50. The basics measure — the proportion of pupils achieving a grade 5 or above in both English and maths — is 34.6%, meaning roughly one in three pupils hit that benchmark. The EBacc entry rate is low at 9%, and only 1.9% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above across the full EBacc suite of subjects. Broken down by subject area, Progress 8 is weakest in open subjects (-0.68) and strongest in English (-0.24), though still negative. The school’s EBacc average point score of 3.42 reflects a narrow, lower-attaining entry into the academic core. These figures suggest that for most pupils, the school is not currently delivering the academic progress that parents would hope for from a state secondary.

On the practical side, the school does offer a decent range of facilities, including a swimming pool, astro turf, tennis courts, and a sports hall, and its extracurricular programme includes clubs like Model UN, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, and Young Enterprise. Sports on offer range from rowing and martial arts to rugby and netball. With 821 pupils on roll, it is a relatively small secondary. The school is non-religious and mixed, taking pupils from ages 11 to 18. Given its Inadequate Ofsted rating and well-below-average Progress 8, this is a school that will likely appeal only to families who have no other viable local option or who are willing to work closely with the school to support their child’s progress. Oversubscription is unlikely, and parents may want to explore nearby alternatives, particularly the Outstanding-rated Presdales School or the high-performing academies in the county.

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