The Highfield School
Secondary · Academy converter · Mixed · Hertfordshire
Highfield, Letchworth Garden City, SG6 3QA
–
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 17/05/2023
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
90.0%
28.9% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
937
Capacity used
Has space88%
1,068 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
132 of 132 families who put it first got an offer
170
Places offered
479
Total applications
2.8
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 132 | 132 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 152 | 26 | ● 17% |
| 3rd preference | 150 | 12 | ● 8% |
| 4th preference | 45 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 479 | 170 | 35% |
1st preference success by year
Hertfordshire lets families list 4 preferences. 1 applications came from outside the council area (0 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
17.22 km
Furthest child offered under "Outside Priority Area, Distance"
407 applications · 180 places · 148 offered
| Siblings | 50 |
| Children of Staff | 1 |
| Nearest School | 31 |
| In Priority Area, Distance | 42 |
| Outside Priority Area, Distance | 5 |
| Non ranked allocation | 4 |
September 2025 entry
8.94 km
Furthest child offered under "Outside Priority Area, Distance"
501 applications · 180 places · 184 offered
| Children Looked After Or Previously Looked After | 2 |
| Siblings | 67 |
| Nearest School | 51 |
| In Priority Area, Distance | 51 |
| Outside Priority Area, Distance | 5 |
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
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Zoe Armitage
- Address
- Highfield, Letchworth Garden City, SG6 3QA
- Phone
- 01462620500
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Ward / constituency
- Letchworth South West · North East Hertfordshire
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 150217
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 27% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 10% | — | — |
| SEN support | 25% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 3 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: SCHOLARS' EDUCATION TRUST
937 pupils · 1,068 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
17 May 2023
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessSixth form Good Personal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 895 pupils
Attendance
90.0%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
10.0%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
28.9%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
5.4%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
3.5%
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 over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 41.7 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 40.4% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 55% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 22.8% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.55 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 171 | — |
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 | 32.44 | 35 |
| Average grade | C+ | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 16.9% | 17% |
| A-level students | 74 | — |
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 | 168 | 14% | 48% | 64% | |
| English Language | 168 | 7% | 39% | 63% | |
| English Literature | 162 | 15% | 50% | 64% | |
| Combined Science | 135 | 3% | 26% | 48% | |
| Geography | 101 | 16% | 43% | 55% | |
| Art and Design | 78 | 24% | 71% | 85% | |
| Business | 77 | 14% | 42% | 58% | |
| History | 66 | 20% | 32% | 39% | |
| Physical Education | 45 | 18% | 40% | 67% | |
| Social Studies | 40 | 20% | 48% | 60% | |
| Biology | 33 | 48% | 94% | 94% | |
| Physics | 31 | 58% | 97% | 100% |
A level
| Subject | Entries | A* | A*–A | A*–B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 27 | 19% | 48% | 63% | |
| Physics | 18 | 0% | 17% | 33% | |
| Business Studies | 18 | 0% | 17% | 17% | |
| Psychology | 17 | 0% | 6% | 41% | |
| Computer Science | 16 | 6% | 38% | 38% | |
| Geography | 13 | 8% | 23% | 38% | |
| History | 9 | 0% | 33% | 44% | |
| Economics | 9 | 0% | 0% | 33% | |
| Mathematics (Further) | 8 | 13% | 38% | 75% | |
| Biology | 7 | 14% | 14% | 29% | |
| Sociology | 7 | 29% | 43% | 71% | |
| English Language | 7 | 14% | 29% | 43% |
Oxbridge
Cambridge offers by year
Ranked #160 of 1,018 UK schools with Cambridge offers2
UCAS apply centre 11138: The Highfield School
| Cambridge admissions1 | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Applications | ≤5 |
| Offers | ≤5 |
| Success rate | — |
| Accepted offers | 0 |
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.
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.