The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College

East Hertfordshire · CM23 5NJ

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 1508 pupils, 6% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted: Outstanding

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 8% on SEN support Behaviour 7.5% absence rate Staff 12.3% turnover Financials £7,799 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College

General Information

Address: Warwick Road, Bishop's Stortford, CM23 5NJ – View on map
Phone: 01279654127
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Richard Paul
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 213 families put it first for 178 places – 12 for every 10 places. 71% of them were offered a place. 50 of the 178 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 11 · 2024 10 · 2025 12 · 2026 12
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Girls
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1508 pupils out of 1360 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 56
% eligible for free school meals: 6.0%
Pupil mix: 6 in 10 (more mixed than the East Hertfordshire average)
English as an additional language: 17% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 12.3% a year (East Hertfordshire 13%, typical in England 15.5%)
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.

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: 7.5%
Persistently absent pupils: 27.3%
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: 8.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.3%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Specific learning difficulty: 47 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 28 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 13 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 9 pupils
Physical disability: 7 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 9 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 2 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: 63.6
Compared with the area: 9.3 points above the East Hertfordshire average (54.3)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (+8.0 points against an expected 55.6)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 94% (East Hertfordshire 78%, 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 schoolEast Hertfordshire 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 9.3 points above the East Hertfordshire average (54.3).

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.

1st of 12 secondary schools in East Hertfordshire for Attainment 8

#1The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College63.6
#2Hockerill Anglo-European College61.7
#3The Bishop's Stortford High School60.2

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#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
#7Simon Balle All-Through School55.4
#8Freman College53.1
#9Leventhorpe49.6
#10The Chauncy School49.5
#11Birchwood High School46.1
#12The Sele School35.7

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 96.0%
Went into further education: 94.0%
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 Literature
English Language
Science Double Award
History
Business Studies
Speech & Drama
Art & Design
Geography
Media Studies
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Biology
Spanish
French Language
Computer Science
Latin
Food Technology
Sports Studies
Religious Studies
Ancient History
Music Studies (General)
Chinese
German
Polish
Greek
Portuguese

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

5th of 11 secondary schools in East Hertfordshire for Ofsted rating

#3The Bishop's Stortford High SchoolOutstanding
#4The Chauncy SchoolOutstanding
#5The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science CollegeOutstanding
#6Edwinstree Church of England Middle SchoolGood
#7Freman CollegeGood

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

#1Presdales SchoolOutstanding
#2Simon Balle All-Through SchoolOutstanding
#3The Bishop's Stortford High SchoolOutstanding
#4The Chauncy SchoolOutstanding
#5The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science CollegeOutstanding
#6Edwinstree Church of England Middle SchoolGood
#7Freman CollegeGood
#8Hockerill Anglo-European CollegeGood
#9LeventhorpeGood
#10Richard Hale SchoolGood
#11Ralph Sadleir SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,799 (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.

6th of 15 secondary schools in East Hertfordshire for spending per pupil

#4Birchwood High School£7,952
#5Simon Balle All-Through School£7,866
#6The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College£7,799
#7Ralph Sadleir School£7,778
#8St Mary's Catholic School£7,670

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

#1Hockerill Anglo-European College£14,378
#2The Sele School£10,063
#3Leventhorpe£8,356
#4Birchwood High School£7,952
#5Simon Balle All-Through School£7,866
#6The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College£7,799
#7Ralph Sadleir School£7,778
#8St Mary's Catholic School£7,670
#9Richard Hale School£7,637
#10Freman College£7,554
#11Avanti Grange Secondary School£7,511
#12The Bishop's Stortford High School£7,497
#13Presdales School£7,364
#14Edwinstree Church of England Middle School£7,174
#15The Chauncy School£7,127

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