Townsend Church of England School
High Oaks, St Albans, AL3 6DR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Anthony Flack
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of St Albans
- Constituency
- Harpenden and Berkhamsted
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 853
- Pupils on roll
- 746
- URN
- 117555
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01727853047
About this school
Townsend Church of England School is a Church of England voluntary aided secondary school in St Albans. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 746 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 24 January 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 125 | 140 | 137 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.0 | 48.2 | 46.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.10 -0.36 to +0.17 | +0.14 -0.10 to +0.39 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 48% | 50.7% | 40.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 70% | 67.9% | 61.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 19% | 13.6% | 16.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Townsend Church of England School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Hertfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 49 | 44.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.2 | 44.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.7 | 44.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 768 |
| 2023/24 | 779 |
| 2024/25 | 756 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Townsend Church of England School compares
Townsend Church of England School ranked 52nd of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 64% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.7 | 11.5% | 24.6% | 746 | — |
| St Albans Girls' School | 58.8 | 7.4% | 11.9% | 1,423 | 0.5 miles |
| Sandringham School | 65.1 | 5.1% | 8.4% | 1,777 | 1.5 miles |
| Loreto College | 58.3 | 8% | 15% | 952 | 1.6 miles |
| Verulam School | 52.5 | 7.4% | 15.1% | 987 | 1.7 miles |
| Beaumont School | 62.6 | 5.2% | 5.3% | 1,722 | 2.3 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 24.63%
- English as an additional language
- 20.1%
- Overall absence
- 11.52%
- Persistent absence
- 32.91%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Albans Girls' School0.5 miles
Secondary · St Albans
-
Sandringham School1.5 miles
Secondary · St Albans
-
Loreto College1.6 miles
Secondary · St Albans
-
Verulam School1.7 miles
Secondary · St Albans
-
Beaumont School2.3 miles
Secondary · St Albans
Other schools in St Albans
Townsend Church of England School ranks 8th of the 9 ranked secondary schools in St Albans.
- Beaumont School Secondary
- Loreto College Secondary
- Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School Secondary
- Sandringham School Secondary
- St Albans Girls' School Secondary
- The Marlborough Science Academy Secondary
- Verulam School Secondary
- Muriel Green Nursery School Nursery
- Aboyne Lodge Junior Mixed and Infant School Primary
- Alban City School Primary
- Bernards Heath Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Bernards Heath Junior School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Townsend Church of England School teach?
- Townsend Church of England School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in St Albans.
- Who is the headteacher of Townsend Church of England School?
- The headteacher of Townsend Church of England School is Mr Anthony Flack, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Townsend Church of England School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Townsend Church of England School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Townsend Church of England School?
- Townsend Church of England School has 746 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Townsend Church of England School full?
- Townsend Church of England School has capacity for 853 pupils and 746 on roll (87%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Townsend Church of England School a faith school?
- Yes. Townsend Church of England School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of St Albans.
- Is Townsend Church of England School a selective school?
- No. Townsend Church of England School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Townsend Church of England School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49 in 2022/23 and 46.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Townsend Church of England School rank locally?
- Townsend Church of England School ranked 52nd of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 64% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Townsend Church of England School's absence rate?
- Townsend Church of England School's overall absence rate is 11.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Townsend Church of England School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Townsend Church of England School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.