Schools around here

Roundwood Park School

Secondary · Academy converter · Mixed · Hertfordshire

Roundwood Park, Harpenden, AL5 3AE

Website 01582765344

89

headline score

Ranking (England)

—

No ranked results

Ofsted

Outstanding

Graded 28/11/2023

Application demand

83%

1st preference success · Oversubscribed

Attendance

92.3%

22.6% persistently absent

Above averageAround averageBelow averagecompared with the England average for state-funded schools.

At a glance

Pupils on roll

1,421

Capacity used

Over capacity

121%

1,179 places

GCSE rank (England)

—

KS2 rank (England)

—

Application demand

Secondary entry · official council applications and offers

Oversubscribed

83%

1st preference success rate

169 of 204 families who put it first got an offer

182

Places offered

655

Total applications

3.6

Applications per place

Preference (Sept 2025 entry)ApplicationsOffersSuccess
1st preference204169● 83%
2nd preference1439● 6%
3rd preference2133● 1%
4th preference951● 1%
Total65518228%

1st preference success by year

77%
2020
98%
2021
83%
2022
87%
2023
81%
2024
83%
2025

Hertfordshire lets families list 4 preferences. 50 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

3.40 km

Furthest child offered under "In Priority Area, Nearest School"

693 applications · 189 places · 189 offered

Children Looked After Or Previously Looked After2
Siblings92
Children of Staff10
In Priority Area, Nearest School83

September 2025 entry

6.48 km

Furthest child offered under "In Priority Area, Nearest School"

698 applications · 189 places · 189 offered

Children Looked After Or Previously Looked After3
Siblings73
Children of Staff4
In Priority Area, Nearest School103

Currently available for Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Enfield schools, from council allocation reports. Distances are straight-line from home to school.

Details

Type
Academy converter
Phase
Secondary
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions policy
Non-selective
Sixth form
Yes
Boarding
No boarders
Headteacher
Katherine Barter
Address
Roundwood Park, Harpenden, AL5 3AE
Phone
01582765344
Local authority
Hertfordshire
Ward / constituency
Harpenden North & Rural · Harpenden and Berkhamsted
Area
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
136973

Pupils

MeasureSchoolLAEngland
Free school meals8%——
English as additional language7%——
SEN support3%——
53% boys (760)47% girls (661)

Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 1 of 5)

1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.

Academy trust: ROUNDWOOD PARK SCHOOL ACADEMY TRUST

1,421 pupils · 1,179 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.

Ofsted inspections

  1. 23

    28 November 2023

    Full graded inspection

    Outstanding overall effectiveness
    Sixth formOutstanding
    Personal developmentOutstanding
    Quality of educationOutstanding
    Safeguarding effectiveYes
    Behaviour and attitudesOutstanding
    Leadership and managementOutstanding
View all Ofsted reports

Attendance

2024/2025 school year · 1,020 pupils

Attendance

92.3%

Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%

Overall absence

7.7%

Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%

Persistent absence

22.6%

Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%

Severe absence

2.8%

Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%

Unauthorised absence

1.0%

Absences the school didn't approve

Persistent absence by year

8%
20/21
16%
21/22
14%
22/23
15%
23/24
23%
24/25

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

MeasureSchoolLAEngland
Attainment 8 score62.5——
Progress 8 score0.79—0.00
Grade 5+ in English & maths79%——
Grade 4+ in English & maths92%——
EBacc average point score5.55——

Progress 8 band

Well below
5% of schools
Below
26% of schools
Average
43% of schools
Above
21% of schools
Well above
5% of schools

A-level results

MeasureSchoolLAEngland
Average points per entry38.27——

Average grade: B- (England B-)

GCSE results over time

57.6201961.2202259.8202362.5202459.52025

Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)

ResultSchoolEngland (approx.)
Attainment 859.546
Grade 5+ English & maths67%46%
Grade 4+ English & maths86.6%65%
Entering EBacc32%40%
EBacc average point score5.314.1
Pupils in cohort194—

How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2022/2023)

Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.

Disadvantaged pupils
+0.07
Other pupils
+0.58
Low prior attainers
+0.49
Middle prior attainers
+0.58
High prior attainers
+0.51
Girls
+0.68
Boys
+0.44

A-level results over time

36.19201944.16202240.44202338.27202440.32025

Average points per entry by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)

ResultSchoolEngland (approx.)
Average points per entry40.335
Average gradeB—
AAB or better (2 facilitating)28.8%17%
A-level students193—

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.

SubjectEntriesGrade 7+Grade 5+Grade 4+
English Language19244%78%89%
Mathematics19143%72%90%
English Literature18939%77%92%
Combined Science1086%52%73%
Geography9860%82%91%
Biology8173%99%100%
Physics8174%100%100%
Chemistry8177%100%100%
History5939%64%80%
Business4929%67%78%
Physical Education4231%64%88%
Food Preparation & Nutrition4050%78%90%

A level

SubjectEntriesA*A*–AA*–B
Mathematics7023%43%66%
Geography5110%37%73%
Biology4810%29%58%
Psychology4117%27%59%
Physics3418%44%71%
Sociology326%25%66%
History2818%43%71%
Economics287%50%93%
Chemistry2711%33%67%
Business Studies2615%23%65%
English Literature254%20%60%
Mathematics (Further)1741%76%88%

Oxbridge

32020420214202262023≤52024≤52025

Cambridge offers by year

Ranked #160 of 1,018 UK schools with Cambridge offers2

UCAS apply centre 11114: Roundwood Park School

Cambridge admissions12025
Applications12
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

MeasureSchoolLAEngland
Higher education (university)77%——
Apprenticeships100%——
Any education or training78%——

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 3.4 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.

EntryDeadlineOffer day
Year 7 (secondary)31 October1 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.