Best Schools in Hertfordshire

How many schools are there in Hertfordshire?

Hertfordshire has 618 open schools: 430 state primary, 88 state secondary or all-through, 41 independent, 32 special and 27 others.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Which schools in Hertfordshire are rated Outstanding?

103 schools in Hertfordshire were rated Outstanding at their most recent graded Ofsted inspection: St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, St Albans; Letchmore Infants' and Nursery School; Abel Smith School; Parmiter's School; The Broxbourne School; and 98 more. Counting Good as well, 94% of the 529 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.

St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, St AlbansLetchmore Infants' and Nursery SchoolAbel Smith SchoolParmiter's SchoolThe Broxbourne School

Source: Ofsted

Which secondary schools in Hertfordshire get the best GCSE results?

Of the 88 schools in Hertfordshire with 2026 GCSE results, the highest Attainment 8 scores - the average grade across a pupil's best eight GCSEs - were at Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet (selective grammar), with an Attainment 8 score of 87.1 and 100% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; Dame Alice Owen's School, with an Attainment 8 score of 73.6 and 91% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; and Watford Grammar School for Boys, with an Attainment 8 score of 66.3 and 84% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above. Selective schools admit by ability, so their raw results are not a like-for-like comparison with comprehensives. Progress 8, the DfE's value-added measure, was not published for 2026.

Queen Elizabeth's School, BarnetDame Alice Owen's SchoolWatford Grammar School for Boys

Source: DfE school performance data

Which primary schools in Hertfordshire have the best SATs results?

Of the 360 primary schools in Hertfordshire with 2025 Key Stage 2 results, the highest shares of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading and maths were at Great Gaddesden Church of England Primary School (100% in reading, 100% in maths); Rickmansworth Park Junior Mixed and Infant School (100% in reading, 97% in maths); and Monken Hadley CofE Primary School (96% in reading, 100% in maths). Small schools can swing a long way from one year to the next, because each pupil is a large share of the result.

Great Gaddesden Church of England Primary SchoolRickmansworth Park Junior Mixed and Infant SchoolMonken Hadley CofE Primary School

Source: DfE school performance data

Are there grammar schools in Hertfordshire?

Yes. Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet is a state grammar school in Hertfordshire. Grammar schools admit pupils by ability through an entrance test, usually sat at the start of Year 6.

Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

How close do you need to live to get into schools in Hertfordshire?

It depends on the school, and the cut-off moves every year with the number of applications. Cambridgeshire and Buckinghamshire published how far the last place offered went at these schools: Bassingbourn Village College, 2.095 miles for 2024 entry; Melbourn Village College, 3.415 miles for 2024 entry; Chenies School, 1.496 miles for 2020 entry. These are the authority's own figures, not fixed boundaries.

Bassingbourn Village CollegeMelbourn Village CollegeChenies School

Source: Cambridgeshire admissions booklets

How do I apply for a school place in Hertfordshire?

Apply to your council - Hertfordshire, Barnet or Cambridgeshire, 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.