Dame Alice Owen's School, Potters Bar

Coming up: an open day on Monday 1 March 2027, an open day on Wednesday 3 March 2027 and an open day on Friday 30 April 2027. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Dame Alice Owen's School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 73.6, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 50.6 in Hertfordshire and 47 across England.

91% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 53% in Hertfordshire and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 72.9.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.92: pupils made well above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 55.6, against 75.2 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 19.6 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Chemistry, Biology and Physics.

For September 2026 entry, 331 families put Dame Alice Owen's School as their first choice and 751 named it as one of their preferences, for 186 places offered. That is 1.8 first choices for every place. 158 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Dame Alice Owen's School are Gracewood Academy (1.3 miles); Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet (2.4 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 87.1); Chancellor's School (2.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 51); and Queen Elizabeth's Girls' School (2.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 61.2).

Dame Alice Owen's School's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 3 schools.

Of the 210 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 96% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 7% to a further education college and 1% into work.

Of the 234 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 88% went on to university or other higher education, 0% to apprenticeships and 6% into work. 71% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

3.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 7.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (37%), Asian (21%) and Mixed (15%).

In 2026, 144 pupils (9.8%) received SEN support and 51 (3.5%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia.

Dame Alice Owen's School had 115 teachers in 2026, one for every 13 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical secondary school, at about one for every 17.

The nearest railway station is Potters Bar Rail Station, about 0.8 miles away in a straight line.

2 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Dame Alice Owen's School (outside), 60 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Dame Alice Owen's School stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 76 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and vehicle crime. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Hertfordshire (138).

In 2024/25, Dame Alice Owen's School issued 31 suspensions, 2.1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Dame Alice Owen's School are Pope Paul Catholic Primary School (0.4 miles), The Wroxham School (0.7 miles), Cranborne Primary School (0.7 miles) and St Giles' CofE Primary School (1.1 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.