Ashlyns School
Secondary · Foundation school · Mixed · Hertfordshire
Chesham Road, Berkhamsted, HP4 3AH
77
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 26/09/2023
Application demand
78%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
91.3%
18.4% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,561
Capacity used
Over capacity100%
1,557 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
78%
1st preference success rate
210 of 269 families who put it first got an offer
235
Places offered
599
Total applications
2.5
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 269 | 210 | ● 78% |
| 2nd preference | 202 | 25 | ● 12% |
| 3rd preference | 68 | 0 | ● 0% |
| 4th preference | 60 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 599 | 235 | 39% |
1st preference success by year
Hertfordshire lets families list 4 preferences. 67 applications came from outside the council area (5 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Last distance offered
From Hertfordshire council's allocation report on offer day. It changes every year, so treat it as a guide.
September 2026 entry
6.15 km
Furthest child offered under "In Priority Area, Nearest School"
651 applications · 240 places · 240 offered
| Children Looked After Or Previously Looked After | 3 |
| Siblings In Named Parishes | 63 |
| Children of Staff | 2 |
| In Priority Area, Nearest School | 163 |
September 2025 entry
3.69 km
Furthest child offered under "In Priority Area, Nearest School"
612 applications · 240 places · 240 offered
| Siblings In Named Parishes | 77 |
| Children of Staff | 2 |
| In Priority Area, Nearest School | 156 |
Currently available for Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Enfield schools, from council allocation reports. Distances are straight-line from home to school.
Details
- Type
- Foundation school
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- James Shapland
- Address
- Chesham Road, Berkhamsted, HP4 3AH
- Phone
- 01442863605
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Ward / constituency
- Berkhamsted East · Harpenden and Berkhamsted
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 117578
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 12% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 5% | — | — |
| SEN support | 13% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 1 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
1,561 pupils · 1,557 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
26 September 2023
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessSixth form Outstanding Personal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,248 pupils
Attendance
91.3%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
8.8%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
18.4%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
4.5%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
2.0%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 53.8 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.36 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 62% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 79% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 4.68 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
A-level results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 34.82 | — | — |
Average grade: C+ (England B-)
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 57.9 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 70.7% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 86.2% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 37.7% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 5.16 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 239 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
A-level results over time
Average points per entry by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 37.59 | 35 |
| Average grade | B- | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 8.7% | 17% |
| A-level students | 155 | — |
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 237 | 41% | 76% | 90% | |
| English Language | 236 | 35% | 79% | 90% | |
| English Literature | 232 | 30% | 72% | 87% | |
| Religious Studies | 224 | 27% | 64% | 75% | |
| Combined Science | 151 | 21% | 55% | 75% | |
| History | 123 | 51% | 79% | 83% | |
| Geography | 117 | 52% | 80% | 88% | |
| Business | 89 | 33% | 67% | 80% | |
| Biology | 83 | 51% | 88% | 99% | |
| Physics | 82 | 56% | 90% | 98% | |
| Chemistry | 82 | 51% | 88% | 98% | |
| French | 56 | 59% | 89% | 96% |
A level
| Subject | Entries | A* | A*–A | A*–B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sociology | 54 | 6% | 17% | 48% | |
| Business Studies | 39 | 8% | 41% | 82% | |
| Psychology | 35 | 3% | 9% | 51% | |
| Mathematics | 35 | 3% | 34% | 54% | |
| History | 27 | 7% | 41% | 74% | |
| Film Studies | 23 | 4% | 30% | 65% | |
| Economics | 22 | 5% | 27% | 59% | |
| Biology | 21 | 10% | 24% | 57% | |
| Government and Politics | 21 | 10% | 43% | 76% | |
| English Language and Literature | 21 | 14% | 38% | 71% | |
| Fine Art | 20 | 10% | 30% | 70% | |
| Geography | 20 | 10% | 30% | 55% |
Oxbridge
Cambridge offers by year
Ranked #160 of 1,018 UK schools with Cambridge offers2
UCAS apply centre 11082: Ashlyns School
| Cambridge admissions1 | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Applications | ≤5 |
| Offers | ≤5 |
| Success rate | — |
| Accepted offers | ≤5 |
1 Source: University of Cambridge, applications, offers and acceptances by UCAS apply centre. To protect privacy small counts are hidden: "<3" means 0–2 (up to 2023); "≤5" means 1–5 (from 2024). Success rate is only shown when exact numbers are published (England average is about 20%).
2 Schools ranked by number of offers; this doesn't account for school size. Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures, so they aren't shown.
Where students go next
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higher education (university) | 59% | — | — |
| Apprenticeships | 2% | — | — |
| Any education or training | 61% | — | — |
Oxford/Cambridge application numbers aren't published per school in official data, so university progression is shown instead.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 5 km — based on the last distance offered, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Hertfordshire council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.