Sir John Lawes School
Secondary · Academy converter · Mixed · Hertfordshire
Manland Way, Harpenden, AL5 4QP
89
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Outstanding
Graded 28/03/2023
Application demand
68%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
95.8%
7.5% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,373
Capacity used
Over capacity114%
1,200 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
68%
1st preference success rate
175 of 256 families who put it first got an offer
183
Places offered
704
Total applications
3.8
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 256 | 175 | ● 68% |
| 2nd preference | 268 | 7 | ● 3% |
| 3rd preference | 149 | 1 | ● 1% |
| 4th preference | 31 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 704 | 183 | 26% |
1st preference success by year
Hertfordshire lets families list 4 preferences. 38 applications came from outside the council area (9 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
1.03 km
Furthest child offered under "In Priority Area, Nearest School"
762 applications · 196 places · 196 offered
| Children Looked After Or Previously Looked After | 4 |
| Siblings | 99 |
| Children of Staff | 6 |
| Priority Primary | 17 |
| In Priority Area, Nearest School | 61 |
September 2025 entry
1.46 km
Furthest child offered under "In Priority Area, Nearest School"
733 applications · 196 places · 196 offered
| Children Looked After Or Previously Looked After | 3 |
| Medical/Social | 1 |
| Siblings | 77 |
| Children of Staff | 8 |
| Priority Primary | 15 |
| In Priority Area, Nearest School | 88 |
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
- Philip Newbery
- Address
- Manland Way, Harpenden, AL5 4QP
- Phone
- 01582760043
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Ward / constituency
- Harpenden East · Harpenden and Berkhamsted
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 137270
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 10% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 12% | — | — |
| SEN support | 11% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 1 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: SCHOLARS' EDUCATION TRUST
1,373 pupils · 1,200 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
28 March 2023
Full graded inspection
Outstanding overall effectivenessSixth form Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Quality of education Outstanding Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,017 pupils
Attendance
95.8%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
4.2%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
7.5%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
0.5%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
0.7%
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 | 62.3 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.79 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 76% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 89% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 5.60 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
A-level results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 40.84 | — | — |
Average grade: B (England B-)
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 62.8 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 75.5% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 87% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 52.1% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 5.74 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 192 | — |
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 | 42.42 | 35 |
| Average grade | B+ | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 27.5% | 17% |
| A-level students | 156 | — |
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 | 191 | 46% | 78% | 91% | |
| English Language | 191 | 40% | 82% | 90% | |
| English Literature | 191 | 39% | 84% | 92% | |
| Geography | 134 | 50% | 78% | 83% | |
| Biology | 117 | 62% | 97% | 99% | |
| Physics | 117 | 65% | 97% | 98% | |
| Chemistry | 117 | 51% | 96% | 99% | |
| Religious Studies | 96 | 44% | 79% | 89% | |
| Design & Technology | 82 | 28% | 66% | 80% | |
| Combined Science | 74 | 11% | 45% | 72% | |
| History | 60 | 63% | 85% | 92% | |
| French | 56 | 68% | 93% | 100% |
A level
| Subject | Entries | A* | A*–A | A*–B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 59 | 20% | 54% | 66% | |
| Biology | 38 | 3% | 13% | 47% | |
| Psychology | 37 | 3% | 35% | 78% | |
| Sociology | 29 | 24% | 48% | 79% | |
| English Literature | 27 | 15% | 56% | 89% | |
| Physics | 25 | 8% | 44% | 76% | |
| Economics | 24 | 25% | 46% | 92% | |
| Chemistry | 19 | 11% | 32% | 47% | |
| Mathematics (Further) | 18 | 39% | 50% | 89% | |
| History | 17 | 41% | 53% | 88% | |
| Geography | 17 | 12% | 24% | 65% | |
| Physical Education / Sports Studies | 17 | 12% | 41% | 59% |
Oxbridge
Cambridge offers by year
Ranked #160 of 1,018 UK schools with Cambridge offers2
UCAS apply centre 15364: Sir John Lawes School
| Cambridge admissions1 | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Applications | 20 |
| 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) | 74% | — | — |
| Apprenticeships | 4% | — | — |
| Any education or training | 74% | — | — |
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 1 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.