Academy converter

Dame Alice Owen's School

Mixed · ages 11–18 · with sixth formHertfordshire, East of England · Potters Bar EN6 2DUTrust: Dame Alice Owen'S SchoolSchool website
Pupils on roll
1,467of 1,416 places
Free school meals
4.3%
Year 11 cohort 2025
200
Ofsted
Outstanding, 5 December 2023Read the Ofsted report

Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Dame Alice Owen's School (URN 117579, until 1 April 2011).

What the data says

Of the 195 pupils who finished Year 11 at Dame Alice Owen's School in 2023, 83% stayed on in Dame Alice Owen's School’s own sixth form (Hertfordshire average 58%), 12% went to a further education college and 1% started an apprenticeship.

Among the 209 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 78% went to university (Hertfordshire 42%, England 37%), and 76% of level 3 students progressed to one of the most selective universities, against 19% nationally.

GCSE results in 2025 were well above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 72.9 against 46.1 across England and 50.6 in Hertfordshire, with 88% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).

A level grades average A-, well above the England average of B-; 51% of students achieved AAB or better including two facilitating subjects (England 18%). The largest A level subjects are Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology.

Where pupils went after Year 11

Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Hertfordshire and England.

Dame Alice Owen's School
Hertfordshire
England
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureDame Alice Owen's SchoolHertfordshireEngland
Pupils in the cohort19514,400607,348
Any sustained destination98%95%92%
Stayed in education97%92%86%
— school sixth form83%58%34%
— sixth form college3%2%13%
— further education college12%31%37%
— other education1%1%2%
Apprenticeship1%2%3%
Employment0%2%3%
No sustained destination1%3%6%
Destination unknown1%2%3%

Where students went after sixth form

Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.

Dame Alice Owen's School
Hertfordshire
England
University (higher education)Further educationOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureDame Alice Owen's SchoolHertfordshireEngland
Students in the cohort20914,189541,441
Any sustained destination93%82%79%
University (higher education)78%42%37%
— most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students76%24%19%
Further education1%5%5%
Apprenticeship2%6%7%
Employment10%28%28%
No sustained destination4%13%16%

GCSE results 2025

MeasureDame Alice Owen's SchoolHertfordshireEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)72.950.646.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths88%53%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths95%72%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects74%47%41%
EBacc average point score6.964.564.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort10%18%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils51.034.234.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils75.254.150.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)
English as an additional language5%16%19%

Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.

Subjects taken at GCSE

Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEnglandGrades 7–9EnglandGrades 4–9
English Language199100%89%59%20%97%
Mathematics199100%88%72%22%95%
English Literature19899%86%65%21%95%
Biology13970%23%89%45%99%
Physics13869%23%88%46%100%
Chemistry13869%23%88%47%100%
History11759%41%82%26%97%
French8442%18%67%29%92%
Spanish7839%19%72%27%96%
Geography7337%41%88%25%100%
Combined Science6131%65%34%9%87%
Economics6030%1%67%34%100%
Religious Studies5829%31%83%32%97%
Design and Technology4925%11%59%23%96%
Art and Design3618%7%81%24%100%
Physical Education3417%11%62%24%97%
German3417%5%68%33%91%
Business Studies3317%18%64%20%88%
Computer Science3116%13%81%30%97%
Music2613%5%92%33%100%
Food Preparation and Nutrition2010%8%65%21%85%
Drama168%7%69%27%100%
Textiles158%2%67%27%100%
Italian21%0%53%
Turkish21%0%71%
Modern Greek21%0%33%
Russian11%0%87%
Polish11%1%84%

Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEngland
Music performance: Group73%
Music performance: Group21%

A levels and other level 3 courses

MeasureDame Alice Owen's SchoolHertfordshireEngland
Students at the end of 16–18 study460
— of whom A level students2228,082261,341
Average A level gradeA-B-B-
Average points per A level entry48.0836.8235.00
Average grade, best 3 A levelsA-B-B-
AAB or better with two facilitating subjects51%19%18%
Average grade, applied general courses
Average grade, T levels

A level subjects

Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEngland
Mathematics13460%31%
Chemistry7232%17%
Biology6328%20%
History5424%13%
Physics5023%12%
Psychology4721%23%
Further Mathematics3616%5%
Economics3315%13%
Politics3014%6%
English Literature2612%11%
Geography2511%10%
Physical Education178%3%
Sociology157%13%
Computer Science157%5%
Religious Studies146%4%
Music125%0%
Business Studies115%13%
Art and Design115%1%
English Language and Literature84%2%
Spanish73%2%
French73%1%
Drama63%2%
Polish0%
Product Design2%
Japanese0%
Textiles1%
Modern Greek0%
German0%

Applied, technical and other level 3 courses

SubjectQualificationEntriesShare of cohortEngland
Study SkillsExtended Project (Diploma)2712%

Other secondary schools in Hertfordshire

Ashlyns School

Foundation school · sixth form · 1,561 pupils

94% stayed in education · Attainment 8 57.9

Barclay Academy

Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,044 pupils

91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 49.5

Barnwell School

Foundation school · sixth form · 1,270 pupils

88% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.5

Beaumont School

Academy converter · sixth form · 1,722 pupils

98% stayed in education · Attainment 8 62.6

Birchwood High School

Academy converter · sixth form · 1,417 pupils

85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.1

Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.