Foundation school

Barnwell School

Mixed · ages 11–18 · with sixth formHertfordshire, East of England · Stevenage SG2 9SWSchool website
Pupils on roll
1,270of 1,590 places
Free school meals
31.3%
Year 11 cohort 2025
206
Ofsted
Report card, 6 January 2026Read the Ofsted report
Curriculum and teaching Expected standardAchievement Needs attentionAttendance and behaviour Needs attentionPersonal development and wellbeing Expected standardInclusion Strong standardLeadership and governance Expected standardPost-16 provision Expected standardSafeguarding Met

Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Collenswood School (URN 117533).

What the data says

Of the 192 pupils who finished Year 11 at Barnwell School in 2023, 37% stayed on in Barnwell School’s own sixth form (Hertfordshire average 58%), 51% went to a further education college and 2% started an apprenticeship.

Among the 51 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 31% went to university (Hertfordshire 42%, England 37%), and 13% of level 3 students progressed to one of the most selective universities, against 19% nationally.

GCSE results in 2025 were below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 41.5 against 46.1 across England and 50.6 in Hertfordshire, with 37% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).

A level grades average C, below the England average of B-; 0% of students achieved AAB or better including two facilitating subjects (England 18%).

Where pupils went after Year 11

Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Hertfordshire and England.

Barnwell School
Hertfordshire
England
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureBarnwell SchoolHertfordshireEngland
Pupils in the cohort19214,400607,348
Any sustained destination93%95%92%
Stayed in education88%92%86%
— school sixth form37%58%34%
— sixth form college0%2%13%
— further education college51%31%37%
— other education0%1%2%
Apprenticeship2%2%3%
Employment3%2%3%
No sustained destination5%3%6%
Destination unknown3%2%3%

Where students went after sixth form

Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.

Barnwell School
Hertfordshire
England
University (higher education)Further educationOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureBarnwell SchoolHertfordshireEngland
Students in the cohort5114,189541,441
Any sustained destination82%82%79%
University (higher education)31%42%37%
— most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students13%24%19%
Further education4%5%5%
Apprenticeship8%6%7%
Employment39%28%28%
No sustained destination10%13%16%

GCSE results 2025

MeasureBarnwell SchoolHertfordshireEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)41.550.646.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths37%53%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths59%72%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects14%47%41%
EBacc average point score3.424.564.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort23%18%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils32.434.234.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils44.354.150.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)
English as an additional language12%16%19%

Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.

Subjects taken at GCSE

Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEnglandGrades 7–9EnglandGrades 4–9
English Language20198%89%14%20%64%
Mathematics20198%88%15%22%68%
English Literature18891%86%11%21%72%
Combined Science16178%65%8%9%59%
History9546%41%11%26%51%
Psychology5627%3%16%22%61%
Geography5024%41%16%25%54%
Business Studies4924%18%8%20%45%
Biology3818%23%29%45%74%
Media Studies3718%4%5%20%49%
3D Design3517%2%14%16%34%
Chemistry3015%23%27%47%93%
Physics3015%23%30%46%93%
Photography2713%6%7%19%85%
Fine Art2110%9%10%28%76%
German2010%5%0%33%20%
Computer Science178%13%24%30%71%
Drama178%7%0%27%29%
Spanish168%19%19%27%88%
French157%18%7%29%53%
Food Preparation and Nutrition147%8%7%21%64%
Citizenship Studies126%3%8%19%75%
Religious Studies84%31%38%32%88%
Graphic Communication84%1%13%23%75%
Dance84%1%0%27%25%

Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEngland
Sports Studies57100%
Health Studies52100%
Computer Appreciation / Introduction1862%
Music performance: Group1759%
Building / Construction Operations (General / Combined)1655%
Dance: General1138%
Hospitality / Catering Studies13%

A levels and other level 3 courses

MeasureBarnwell SchoolHertfordshireEngland
Students at the end of 16–18 study95
— of whom A level students298,082261,341
Average A level gradeCB-B-
Average points per A level entry30.5436.8235.00
Average grade, best 3 A levelsC+B-B-
AAB or better with two facilitating subjects0%19%18%
Average grade, applied general courses
Average grade, T levels

A level subjects

Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEngland
English Language and Literature1345%2%
Mathematics931%31%
History13%
Law4%
Psychology23%
Further Mathematics5%
Chemistry17%
Photography3%
Geography10%
3D Design1%
Media Studies4%
Physics12%
Business Studies13%
Fine Art3%
Biology20%
Environmental Science1%

Applied, technical and other level 3 courses

SubjectQualificationEntriesShare of cohortEngland
PsychologyBTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D*2172%
Social ScienceVRQ Level 31759%
BiologyBTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D*1034%
Speech and DramaVRQ Level 3931%
Study SkillsExtended Project (Diploma)724%
Health StudiesBTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D*724%
Sports StudiesOCR Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate at Level 3
Computer Architecture / SystemsBTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D*
Health StudiesBTEC National Diploma L3 - Band J - PP-D*D*
Business StudiesBTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D*
Childcare SkillsBTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D*
Sports StudiesOCR Cambridge Technical Diploma at Level 3

Where Barnwell School is

Other secondary schools in Hertfordshire are shown for comparison; darker blue means more Year 11 leavers stayed in education. The last distance at which this school offered places is not yet on file — it comes from Hertfordshire’s allocation statistics.

Other secondary schools in Hertfordshire

Ashlyns School

Foundation school · sixth form · 1,561 pupils

94% stayed in education · Attainment 8 57.9

Barclay Academy

Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,044 pupils

91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 49.5

Beaumont School

Academy converter · sixth form · 1,722 pupils

98% stayed in education · Attainment 8 62.6

Birchwood High School

Academy converter · sixth form · 1,417 pupils

85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.1

Bushey Meads School

Academy converter · sixth form · 1,200 pupils

95% stayed in education · Attainment 8 43.6

Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.