Birchwood High School

General Information

Address: Parsonage Lane, Bishop's Stortford, CM23 5BD
Phone: 01279655936
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Sam Griffin
Age range: 11-18 years
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Number of pupils: 1417
School capacity: 1500
Pupils eligible for free school meals: 213
% eligible for free school meals: 18.2%
Nursery provision: No

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Behaviour information for this school has not been added yet.

Attendance

Overall absence: 10.2%
Persistently absent pupils: 29.9%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

SEN provision information for this school has not been added yet.

Pupils on SEN Support: 11.9%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.9%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 76 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 37 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 24 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 11 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 10 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 19 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 18 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 9 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 2 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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Educational Attainment

No overall grade given 2025 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted stopped giving single overall grades for a period between September 2024 and November 2025 - this school's most recent inspection falls in that window, so there's no single rating to show, even though it was inspected. The full report (linked below) still has the detail.

Educational attainment data for this school has not been added yet.

Attainment 8 score: 46.1
Data year: 2024/25

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

Ranked #10 of 11 Attainment 8 schools of this type in the area

#8Leventhorpe49.6
#9The Chauncy School49.5
#10Birchwood High School46.1
#11The Sele School35.7

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

#1The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College63.6
#2Hockerill Anglo-European College61.7
#3The Bishop's Stortford High School60.2
#4Presdales School58.9
#5St Mary's Catholic School57.6
#6Richard Hale School56.3
#7Freman College53.1
#8Leventhorpe49.6
#9The Chauncy School49.5
#10Birchwood High School46.1
#11The Sele School35.7

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 93.0%
Went into further education: 85.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Science Double Award
Geography
History
D & T
Physics (General)
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Sports Studies
French Language
Art & Design
Food Technology
Spanish
Computer Science
Speech & Drama
Statistics
Music Studies (General)
Media Studies
Religious Studies
German
Dance: General
Portuguese
Russian
Chinese
Turkish
Arabic
Polish

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Financial summary information for this school has not been added yet.

Spending per pupil: £7,952 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

Ranked #4 of 14 Spending Per Pupil schools of this type in the area

#2The Sele School£10,063
#3Leventhorpe£8,356
#4Birchwood High School£7,952
#5The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College£7,799
#6Ralph Sadleir School£7,778

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

#1Hockerill Anglo-European College£14,378
#2The Sele School£10,063
#3Leventhorpe£8,356
#4Birchwood High School£7,952
#5The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College£7,799
#6Ralph Sadleir School£7,778
#7St Mary's Catholic School£7,670
#8Richard Hale School£7,637
#9Freman College£7,554
#10Avanti Grange Secondary School£7,511
#11The Bishop's Stortford High School£7,497
#12Presdales School£7,364
#13Edwinstree Church of England Middle School£7,174
#14The Chauncy School£7,127

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

General Information

Behaviour

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered