Sir John Lawes School

St Albans · AL5 4QP

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 1373 pupils, 9.7% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted: Outstanding

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 13.1% on SEN support Behaviour 4.2% absence rate Staff 8.2% turnover Financials £7,262 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Sir John Lawes School

General Information

Address: Manland Way, Harpenden, AL5 4QP – View on map
Phone: 01582760043
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Philip Newbery
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 259 families put it first for 187 places – 14 for every 10 places. 69% of them were offered a place. 21 of the 187 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 11 · 2024 12 · 2025 14 · 2026 14
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1373 pupils out of 1200 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 98
% eligible for free school meals: 9.7%
Pupil mix: 6 in 10 (similar to the St Albans average)
English as an additional language: 14% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 8.2% a year (St Albans 13.2%, typical in England 15.5%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 40% moved to another school, 60% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

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.

Across Hertfordshire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 141 (1.5 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 212 (2.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 86 (0.9 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Hertfordshire (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 4.2%
Persistently absent pupils: 7.5%
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.

Pupils on SEN Support: 13.1%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.0%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Specific learning difficulty: 71 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 37 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 34 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 10 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 8 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 11 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 5 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil

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 –

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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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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Outstanding 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 62.8
Compared with the area: 5.4 points above the St Albans average (57.4)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (+10.5 points against an expected 52.3)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 87% (St Albans 81%, England 65%) Broadly steady
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolSt Albans averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 5.4 points above the St Albans average (57.4).

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.

3rd of 13 secondary schools in St Albans for Attainment 8

#1Sandringham School65.1
#2St George's School63.7
#3Sir John Lawes School62.8
#4Beaumont School62.6
#5Roundwood Park School59.5

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Sandringham School65.1
#2St George's School63.7
#3Sir John Lawes School62.8
#4Beaumont School62.6
#5Roundwood Park School59.5
#6St Albans Girls' School58.8
#7Loreto College58.3
#8Samuel Ryder Academy56.5
#9Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School56.4
#10Katherine Warington School54.8
#11Verulam School52.5
#12Townsend Church of England School46.7
#13The Marlborough Science Academy43.4

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 97.0%
Went into further education: 96.0%
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

English Literature
English Language
Maths (General)
Geography
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Religious Studies
D & T
Science Double Award
History
French Language
Media Studies
Sports Studies
Art & Design
Computer Science
Food Technology
Spanish
German
Speech & Drama
Music Studies (General)
Chinese
Italian
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

4th of 8 secondary schools in St Albans for Ofsted rating

#2Roundwood Park SchoolOutstanding
#3Sandringham SchoolOutstanding
#4Sir John Lawes SchoolOutstanding
#5Katherine Warington SchoolGood
#6The Marlborough Science AcademyGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Nicholas Breakspear Catholic SchoolOutstanding
#2Roundwood Park SchoolOutstanding
#3Sandringham SchoolOutstanding
#4Sir John Lawes SchoolOutstanding
#5Katherine Warington SchoolGood
#6The Marlborough Science AcademyGood
#7Townsend Church of England SchoolGood
#8Verulam SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,262 (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.

12th of 13 secondary schools in St Albans for spending per pupil

#10Beaumont School£7,459
#11Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School£7,285
#12Sir John Lawes School£7,262
#13Samuel Ryder Academy£7,071

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.

Rank School Score

#1St George's School£10,016
#2Townsend Church of England School£9,590
#3Katherine Warington School£8,702
#4Sandringham School£8,057
#5Verulam School£8,019
#6Roundwood Park School£7,966
#7The Marlborough Science Academy£7,924
#8Loreto College£7,789
#9St Albans Girls' School£7,509
#10Beaumont School£7,459
#11Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School£7,285
#12Sir John Lawes School£7,262
#13Samuel Ryder Academy£7,071

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

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Hertfordshire: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered