Monk's Walk School
Knightsfield, Welwyn Garden City, AL8 7NL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- MONK'S WALK SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Matt Grinyer
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Welwyn Hatfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,430
- Pupils on roll
- 1,440
- URN
- 138632
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01707322846
About this school
Monk's Walk School is a secondary academy in Welwyn Garden City. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,440 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Monk's Walk School, and its latest judgement is set out 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 20 September 2023, 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 | 220 | 224 | 221 |
| Attainment 8 score | 54.2 | 50.4 | 50.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.59 +0.40 to +0.78 | +0.24 +0.05 to +0.43 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 60% | 53.1% | 51.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 77% | 74.1% | 71.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 27% | 17.9% | 40.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.6 |
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 Monk's Walk 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 | 54.2 | 44.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50.4 | 44.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.8 | 44.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,394 |
| 2023/24 | 1,421 |
| 2024/25 | 1,436 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Monk's Walk School compares
Monk's Walk School ranked 36th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 78% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50.8 | 7.3% | 20.3% | 1,440 | — |
| Ridgeway Academy | 35.7 | 11.5% | 32.5% | 875 | 1.8 miles |
| Stanborough School | 47.9 | 5.5% | 20% | 1,287 | 2.1 miles |
| Onslow St Audrey's School | 36.6 | 11.8% | 35.5% | 787 | 4.1 miles |
| Bishop's Hatfield Girls' School | 51.9 | 8% | 18.8% | 942 | 4.3 miles |
| The Sele School | 35.7 | 12.9% | 35% | 382 | 4.9 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)
- 20.31%
- English as an additional language
- 10.8%
- Overall absence
- 7.28%
- Persistent absence
- 20.32%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ridgeway Academy1.8 miles
Secondary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Stanborough School2.1 miles
Secondary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Onslow St Audrey's School4.1 miles
Secondary · Hatfield
-
Bishop's Hatfield Girls' School4.3 miles
Secondary · Hatfield
-
The Sele School4.9 miles
Secondary · Hertford
Other schools in Welwyn Garden City
- Ridgeway Academy Secondary
- Stanborough School 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 Monk's Walk School teach?
- Monk's Walk School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Welwyn Garden City.
- Who is the headteacher of Monk's Walk School?
- The headteacher of Monk's Walk School is Matt Grinyer, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Monk's Walk School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Monk's Walk 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 Monk's Walk School?
- Monk's Walk School has 1,440 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Monk's Walk School full?
- Monk's Walk School has capacity for 1,430 pupils and 1,440 on roll (101%), 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 Monk's Walk School a faith school?
- No. Monk's Walk School has no designated religious character.
- Is Monk's Walk School a selective school?
- No. Monk's Walk School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Monk's Walk School part of an academy trust?
- Monk's Walk School is part of MONK'S WALK SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Monk's Walk School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 54.2 in 2022/23 and 50.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Monk's Walk School compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- Monk's Walk School ranked 36th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 78% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Monk's Walk School's absence rate?
- Monk's Walk School's overall absence rate is 7.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Monk's Walk School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Monk's Walk 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.