Stanborough School
Lemsford Lane, Welwyn Garden City, AL8 6YR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- STANBOROUGH SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mrs Merry John
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Welwyn Hatfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,419
- Pupils on roll
- 1,287
- URN
- 137847
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01707321755
About this school
Stanborough School is a secondary academy in Welwyn Garden City. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,287 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Stanborough School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 193 | 188 | 170 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.7 | 46.5 | 47.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.42 +0.21 to +0.62 | +0.18 -0.04 to +0.39 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 55% | 48.4% | 52.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% | 73.4% | 69.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 90% | 88.3% | 78.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.5 |
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 Stanborough 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 | 50.7 | 44.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.5 | 44.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47.9 | 44.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,123 |
| 2023/24 | 1,204 |
| 2024/25 | 1,261 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Stanborough School compares
Stanborough School ranked 50th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 69% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47.9 | 5.5% | 20% | 1,287 | — |
| Ridgeway Academy | 35.7 | 11.5% | 32.5% | 875 | 1.9 miles |
| Monk's Walk School | 50.8 | 7.3% | 20.3% | 1,440 | 2.1 miles |
| Onslow St Audrey's School | 36.6 | 11.8% | 35.5% | 787 | 2.1 miles |
| Bishop's Hatfield Girls' School | 51.9 | 8% | 18.8% | 942 | 2.2 miles |
| Sandringham School | 65.1 | 5.1% | 8.4% | 1,777 | 4.0 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)
- 20.04%
- English as an additional language
- 17.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.48%
- Persistent absence
- 11.93%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ridgeway Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Monk's Walk School2.1 miles
Secondary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Onslow St Audrey's School2.1 miles
Secondary · Hatfield
-
Bishop's Hatfield Girls' School2.2 miles
Secondary · Hatfield
-
Sandringham School4.0 miles
Secondary · St Albans
Other schools in Welwyn Garden City
- Monk's Walk School Secondary
- Ridgeway Academy Secondary
- Ludwick Nursery School Nursery
- Applecroft School Primary
- Commonswood Primary & Nursery School Primary
- Creswick Academy Primary
- Harwood Hill Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Holwell Primary School Primary
- Homerswood Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Our Lady Catholic Primary School Primary
- Panshanger Primary School Primary
- Peartree Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Stanborough School teach?
- Stanborough School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Welwyn Garden City.
- Who is the headteacher of Stanborough School?
- The headteacher of Stanborough School is Mrs Merry John, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Stanborough School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Stanborough 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 many pupils are at Stanborough School?
- Stanborough School has 1,287 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Stanborough School full?
- Stanborough School has capacity for 1,419 pupils and 1,287 on roll (91%), 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 Stanborough School a faith school?
- No. Stanborough School has no designated religious character.
- Is Stanborough School a selective school?
- No. Stanborough School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Stanborough School part of an academy trust?
- Stanborough School is part of STANBOROUGH SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Stanborough School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50.7 in 2022/23 and 47.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Stanborough School compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- Stanborough School ranked 50th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 69% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Stanborough School's absence rate?
- Stanborough School's overall absence rate is 5.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Stanborough School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Stanborough 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 1 July 2026.