Richard Hale School
Hale Road, Hertford, SG13 8EN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- RICHARD HALE SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Ian Hawkins
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Hertford and Stortford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,218
- Pupils on roll
- 1,207
- URN
- 139873
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01992583441
About this school
Richard Hale School is a boys' secondary academy in Hertford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,207 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
- 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 | 175 | 175 | 175 |
| Attainment 8 score | 55.2 | 53.8 | 56.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.38 +0.17 to +0.60 | +0.31 +0.10 to +0.53 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 65% | 66.3% | 65.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 86% | 82.9% | 81.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 66% | 69.7% | 63.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.3 |
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 Richard Hale 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 | 55.2 | 44.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 53.8 | 44.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 56.3 | 44.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,227 |
| 2023/24 | 1,217 |
| 2024/25 | 1,209 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Richard Hale School compares
Richard Hale School ranked 27th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 89% 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 | 56.3 | 5.4% | 9.7% | 1,207 | — |
| The Sele School | 35.7 | 12.9% | 35% | 382 | 1.2 miles |
| The Chauncy School | 49.5 | 7.4% | 18.5% | 1,515 | 2.1 miles |
| Presdales School | 58.9 | 7.8% | 11% | 1,167 | 2.1 miles |
| The John Warner School | 40.8 | 11.6% | 19.3% | 726 | 3.5 miles |
| Robert Barclay Academy | 44.2 | 8.3% | 24.6% | 821 | 3.7 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.
Inspection history
- 9 July 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report4 December 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 9.65%
- English as an additional language
- 5%
- Overall absence
- 5.41%
- Persistent absence
- 11.97%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Sele School1.2 miles
Secondary · Hertford
-
The Chauncy School2.1 miles
Secondary · Ware
-
Presdales School2.1 miles
Secondary · Ware
-
The John Warner School3.5 miles
Secondary · Hoddesdon
-
Robert Barclay Academy3.7 miles
Secondary · Hoddesdon
Other schools in Hertford
- The Sele School Secondary
- Abel Smith School Primary
- Bayford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Bengeo Primary School Primary
- Hertford Heath Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Hertford St Andrew CofE Primary School Primary
- Hertingfordbury Cowper Primary School Primary
- Hollybush Primary School Primary
- Mill Mead Primary Academy Primary
- Morgans Primary School & Nursery Primary
- Ponsbourne St Mary's Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School (Hertford) Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Richard Hale School teach?
- Richard Hale School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Hertford.
- Who is the headteacher of Richard Hale School?
- The headteacher of Richard Hale School is Ian Hawkins, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Richard Hale School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Richard Hale 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 Richard Hale School?
- Richard Hale School has 1,207 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Richard Hale School full?
- Richard Hale School has capacity for 1,218 pupils and 1,207 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Richard Hale School a faith school?
- No. Richard Hale School has no designated religious character.
- Is Richard Hale School a selective school?
- No. Richard Hale School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Richard Hale School?
- Richard Hale School is part of RICHARD HALE SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Richard Hale School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 55.2 in 2022/23 and 56.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Richard Hale School rank locally?
- Richard Hale School ranked 27th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 89% 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 Richard Hale School's absence rate?
- Richard Hale School's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Richard Hale School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Richard Hale 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 6 July 2026.