Gracewood Academy, Potters Bar
Gracewood Academy is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 18 in Potters Bar, part of Future Academies.
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Hertfordshire (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Gracewood Academy in detail
Results
Gracewood Academy has no published results of its own yet. Before it took its current form in 2025, as Mount Grace School (URN 137224), its pupils had an average Attainment 8 score of 43.2 and 40% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above in the 2026 GCSE results.
Getting a place at Gracewood Academy
For September 2026 entry, 31 families put Gracewood Academy as their first choice and 110 named it as one of their preferences, for 108 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Gracewood Academy are Dame Alice Owen's School (1.3 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 73.6); Chancellor's School (1.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 51); JCoSS (3.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 61); and Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet (3.5 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 87.1).
Dame Alice Owen's SchoolChancellor's SchoolJCoSSQueen Elizabeth's School, Barnet
The trust
Gracewood Academy is one of 11 schools run by Future Academies, an academy trust.
Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 45.1 in 2024/25.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Potters Bar Rail Station, about 890 metres away (roughly a 11-minute walk).
4 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Mount Grace School (outside), 50 metres away.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Gracewood Academy are Little Heath Primary School (0.4 miles), Ladbrooke Junior Mixed and Infant School (0.5 miles), Cranborne Primary School (0.7 miles) and Oakmere Primary School (1 mile). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Little Heath Primary SchoolLadbrooke Junior Mixed and Infant SchoolCranborne Primary SchoolOakmere Primary School
Sources: DfE school performance data; GIAS establishment links; DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; NaPTAN (Department for Transport)
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Gracewood Academy has not been inspected by Ofsted since it took its current form in December 2025. Before that, as Mount Grace School (URN 137224), it was rated Requires Improvement in November 2022.
At a Glance
28.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
Yes
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Exclusions & Suspensions
2
Permanent exclusions
117
Suspensions
59 pupils received one or more suspensions
2024/25 academic year
Results at Mount Grace School before it took its current form in 2025 (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26Published for Mount Grace School (URN 137224), the school Gracewood Academy replaced. There are no figures for Gracewood Academy yet, so these are shown separately.
GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has declined from -0.18 to -0.47 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has improved from 39.6 to 43.2 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has improved from 30% to 40% (2023 to 2026).
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with Gracewood Academy
Term dates
Gracewood Academy is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Hertfordshire's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Gracewood Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Gracewood Academy is in Hertfordshire; for families living there:
- Hertfordshire's school travel policy: Read the home to school transport policy
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 10
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 10 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 9 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Hertfordshire is 9 (the median across 590 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Gracewood Academy
Will you get a place at Gracewood Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Gracewood Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Gracewood Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Gracewood Academy.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Hertfordshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Gracewood Academy for 2026 entry.
- How many families in Hertfordshire got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
39%
Available places
420 pupils
1,082 places
662 spare places
as recorded on GIAS
Area Demand Pressure - Potters Bar
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Potters Bar
Across Hertfordshire council
Places available
15,222
Applications
13,456
Got 1st preference
77.5%
Got preferred school
94.9%
All secondary applications across Hertfordshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
61
SEN Support
13
EHC Plans
17.6%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
420
Total Pupils
229
Boys
191
Girls
2026 academic year
Absence at Mount Grace School before it took its current form in 20252024/25
Published for Mount Grace School (URN 137224), the school Gracewood Academy replaced. There are no figures for Gracewood Academy yet, so these are shown separately.
13.2%
Overall absence
40.5%
Persistent absence
484
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Gracewood Academy
Questions parents ask about Gracewood Academy
Are there exam results for Gracewood Academy?
Gracewood Academy has no published results of its own yet. Before it took its current form in 2025, as Mount Grace School (URN 137224), its pupils had an average Attainment 8 score of 43.2 and 40% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above in the 2026 GCSE results.
What is Gracewood Academy's Ofsted rating?
Gracewood Academy has not been inspected by Ofsted since it took its current form in December 2025. Before that, as Mount Grace School (URN 137224), it was rated Requires Improvement in November 2022.
What is the catchment area for Gracewood Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Gracewood Academy is oversubscribed, Hertfordshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
How big are the classes at Gracewood Academy?
Classes at Gracewood Academy average 22.5 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Gracewood Academy?
Gracewood Academy has around 420 pupils on roll. 28% are eligible for free school meals.
How do I apply to Gracewood Academy?
Apply through Hertfordshire's coordinated admissions process, naming Gracewood Academy on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Gracewood Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 10 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 9 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Hertfordshire is 9 (the median across 590 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Gracewood Academy?
Gracewood Academy is at Church Road, Rothwell, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, EN6 1EZ.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)