Presdales School
Hoe Lane, Ware, SG12 9NX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Girls
- Trust
- PRESDALES SCHOOL ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Matthew Warren
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Hertford and Stortford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,061
- Pupils on roll
- 1,167
- URN
- 137985
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01920462210
About this school
Presdales School is a girls' secondary academy in Ware. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,167 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. 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 177 | 175 | 177 |
| Attainment 8 score | 57.8 | 58.8 | 58.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.58 +0.37 to +0.79 | +0.61 +0.39 to +0.83 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 68% | 71.4% | 69.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 87% | 93.1% | 89.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 80% | 82.3% | 82.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.6 |
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 Presdales 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 | 57.8 | 44.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 58.8 | 44.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 58.9 | 44.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,162 |
| 2023/24 | 1,175 |
| 2024/25 | 1,166 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Presdales School compares
Presdales School ranked 16th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 92% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 58.9 | 7.8% | 11% | 1,167 | — |
| The Chauncy School | 49.5 | 7.4% | 18.5% | 1,515 | 1.0 miles |
| Richard Hale School | 56.3 | 5.4% | 9.7% | 1,207 | 2.1 miles |
| The John Warner School | 40.8 | 11.6% | 19.3% | 726 | 2.3 miles |
| The Sele School | 35.7 | 12.9% | 35% | 382 | 3.1 miles |
| Robert Barclay Academy | 44.2 | 8.3% | 24.6% | 821 | 3.4 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)
- 10.97%
- English as an additional language
- 7.7%
- Overall absence
- 7.75%
- Persistent absence
- 21.66%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Chauncy School1.0 miles
Secondary · Ware
-
Richard Hale School2.1 miles
Secondary · Hertford
-
The John Warner School2.3 miles
Secondary · Hoddesdon
-
The Sele School3.1 miles
Secondary · Hertford
-
Robert Barclay Academy3.4 miles
Secondary · Hoddesdon
Other schools in Ware
- The Chauncy School Secondary
- Christ Church CofE (VA) Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Hunsdon Junior Mixed and Infant School Primary
- Jenyns First School and Nursery Primary
- Kingshill Infant School Primary
- Larkspur Academy Primary
- Little Hadham Primary School Primary
- Little Munden Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Priors Wood Primary School Primary
- Puller Memorial, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Roger De Clare First CofE School Primary
- Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Presdales School teach?
- Presdales School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Ware.
- Who is the headteacher of Presdales School?
- The headteacher of Presdales School is Mr Matthew Warren, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Presdales School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Presdales 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 Presdales School?
- Presdales School has 1,167 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Presdales School full?
- Presdales School has capacity for 1,061 pupils and 1,167 on roll (110%), so it is at or above 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 Presdales School a faith school?
- No. Presdales School has no designated religious character.
- Is Presdales School a selective school?
- No. Presdales School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Presdales School?
- Presdales School is part of PRESDALES SCHOOL ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Presdales School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 57.8 in 2022/23 and 58.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Presdales School rank locally?
- Presdales School ranked 16th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 92% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Presdales School's absence rate?
- Presdales School's overall absence rate is 7.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Presdales School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Presdales 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.