Katherine Warington School
Secondary · Free schools · Mixed · Hertfordshire
Lower Luton Road, Harpenden, AL5 5FH
77
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 28/02/2024
Application demand
79%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
92.5%
16.5% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,113
Capacity used
—
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
79%
1st preference success rate
108 of 136 families who put it first got an offer
164
Places offered
640
Total applications
3.9
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 136 | 108 | ● 79% |
| 2nd preference | 166 | 38 | ● 23% |
| 3rd preference | 161 | 12 | ● 7% |
| 4th preference | 177 | 6 | ● 3% |
| Total | 640 | 164 | 26% |
1st preference success by year
Hertfordshire lets families list 4 preferences. 34 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
2.42 km
Furthest child offered under "In Priority Area, Not Nearest School"
649 applications · 180 places · 180 offered
| Children Looked After Or Previously Looked After | 2 |
| Siblings | 77 |
| Children of Staff | 2 |
| In Priority Area, Nearest School | 55 |
| In Priority Area, Not Nearest School | 29 |
September 2025 entry
2.34 km
Furthest child offered under "In Priority Area, Not Nearest School"
666 applications · 180 places · 180 offered
| Children Looked After Or Previously Looked After | 1 |
| Siblings | 59 |
| Children of Staff | 2 |
| In Priority Area, Nearest School | 76 |
| In Priority Area, Not Nearest School | 26 |
Currently available for Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Enfield schools, from council allocation reports. Distances are straight-line from home to school.
Details
- Type
- Free schools
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Headteacher
- David Martin
- Address
- Lower Luton Road, Harpenden, AL5 5FH
- Phone
- 01582314777
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Ward / constituency
- Harpenden East · Harpenden and Berkhamsted
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 145890
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 14% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 6% | — | — |
| SEN support | 9% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 1 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: HARPENDEN SECONDARY EDUCATION TRUST
1,113 pupils. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 24
28 February 2024
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessPersonal development Outstanding Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 946 pupils
Attendance
92.5%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
7.5%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
16.5%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
3.2%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
1.3%
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 | 54.0 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.48 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 58% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 75% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 4.63 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 54.8 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 59.5% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 76.3% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 26.6% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.85 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 173 | — |
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.
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 | 172 | 38% | 63% | 83% | |
| English Language | 172 | 34% | 69% | 78% | |
| English Literature | 166 | 35% | 69% | 83% | |
| Religious Studies | 162 | 31% | 62% | 67% | |
| Combined Science | 117 | 23% | 57% | 75% | |
| History | 76 | 45% | 70% | 79% | |
| Spanish | 62 | 37% | 65% | 77% | |
| Art and Design | 58 | 7% | 24% | 50% | |
| Biology | 52 | 83% | 98% | 98% | |
| Business | 51 | 18% | 59% | 75% | |
| Physics | 50 | 92% | 100% | 100% | |
| Chemistry | 50 | 84% | 100% | 100% |
Oxbridge
No Cambridge applications recorded for this school in 2020–2025.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 2.4 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.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
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.