Best Schools in Herefordshire

How many schools are there in Herefordshire?

Herefordshire has 103 open schools: 75 state primary, 15 state secondary or all-through, 2 independent, 7 special and 4 others.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Which schools in Herefordshire are rated Outstanding?

18 schools in Herefordshire were rated Outstanding at their most recent graded Ofsted inspection: Walford Nursery & Primary School, Eastnor Parochial Primary School, Riverside Primary School, The Beacon College, Fairfield High School and 13 more. Counting Good as well, 94% of the 88 graded schools here are rated Good or better. Ofsted stopped giving single-word overall grades in September 2024, so these are the grades from each school's last full inspection.

Walford Nursery & Primary SchoolEastnor Parochial Primary SchoolRiverside Primary SchoolThe Beacon CollegeFairfield High School

Source: Ofsted

Which secondary schools in Herefordshire get the best GCSE results?

Of the 15 schools in Herefordshire with 2026 GCSE results, the highest Attainment 8 scores - the average grade across a pupil's best eight GCSEs - were at St Mary's RC High School, with an Attainment 8 score of 53.2 and 64% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; Fairfield High School, with an Attainment 8 score of 51.9 and 56% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; and Whitecross Hereford, with an Attainment 8 score of 50.1 and 41% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above. Progress 8, the DfE's value-added measure, was not published for 2026.

St Mary's RC High SchoolFairfield High SchoolWhitecross Hereford

Source: DfE school performance data

Which primary schools in Herefordshire have the best SATs results?

4 of the 68 primary schools in Herefordshire with 2025 Key Stage 2 results had every pupil reach the expected standard in both reading and maths, among them Kimbolton St James CofE Primary School; Longtown Community Primary School; and St Mary's Primary School, Dilwyn. Small schools can swing a long way from one year to the next, because each pupil is a large share of the result.

Kimbolton St James CofE Primary SchoolLongtown Community Primary SchoolSt Mary's Primary School, Dilwyn

Source: DfE school performance data

Are there grammar schools in Herefordshire?

No. None of the state secondary schools in Herefordshire selects pupils by ability, so every state secondary here is comprehensive.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Do schools in Herefordshire have catchment areas?

Most state schools in Herefordshire have no fixed catchment boundary. When a school is oversubscribed, the council allocates places on its published criteria - usually looked-after children first, then siblings, then home-to-school distance - so the practical cut-off moves each year. Each school's page here shows an estimate of its catchment radius.

How do I apply for a school place in Herefordshire?

Apply to your council - Herefordshire, County of; or Gloucestershire, depending on your address - through its coordinated admissions process, even for academies and faith schools. In England the closing date is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts. Independent schools run their own admissions, so apply to those directly.