Sandringham School, St Albans

In 2026, pupils at Sandringham School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 65.7, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 50.6 in Hertfordshire and 47 across England.

84% 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 65.1.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 1.06: 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 48.6, against 67.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 18.7 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 27 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Physical Education, Combined Science and French.

For September 2026 entry, 337 families put Sandringham School as their first choice and 1005 named it as one of their preferences, for 233 places offered. That is 1.4 first choices for every place. 108 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Sandringham School are St Albans Girls' School (1 mile, Outstanding, Attainment 8 60.7); Verulam School (1.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 54.4); Beaumont School (1.1 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 63); and Townsend Church of England School (1.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.9).

Sandringham School's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

Sandringham School is one of 11 schools run by Ambition Education Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 53.2 in 2024/25.

Of the 240 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 98% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 17% to a further education college and 1% to an apprenticeship.

Of the 269 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 73% went on to university or other higher education, 4% to apprenticeships and 12% into work. 47% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

6.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 128 pupils (7.2%) received SEN support and 38 (2.1%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is St Albans City Rail Station, about 1.6 miles away in a straight line.

7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Sandringham School (adjacent), 90 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Sandringham School stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 72 crimes within a mile of the school, most often shoplifting, violence and sexual offences and other theft. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Hertfordshire (138).

In 2024/25, Sandringham School issued 109 suspensions, 6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

The primary schools closest to Sandringham School are Wheatfields Infants' and Nursery School (0.2 miles); Wheatfields Junior Mixed School (0.2 miles); Skyswood Primary & Nursery School (0.3 miles); and St John Fisher Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy (0.4 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.