Simon Balle All-Through School
Mangrove Road, Hertford, SG13 8AJ
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE LAUREL EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Rachel Kirk and Mike Moss
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Hertford and Stortford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,037
- Pupils on roll
- 1,617
- URN
- 140294
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01992410400
About this school
Simon Balle All-Through School is an all-through academy in Hertford. It teaches children aged 4 to 18 and has 1,617 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 25 April 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding. 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 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 60 | 63 | 64 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 85% | 75% | 84% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 30% | 19% | 33% |
| Expected standard in reading | 88% | 84% | 91% |
| Expected standard in maths | 90% | 83% | 95% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 92% | 84% | 92% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 107.0 | 110.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 106.0 | 110.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +4.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.30 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 171 | 176 | 177 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.6 | 52.9 | 55.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.03 -0.19 to +0.24 | +0.45 +0.24 to +0.67 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 53% | 59.7% | 63.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% | 82.4% | 83.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 33% | 45.5% | 48.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 4.7 | 5.0 |
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 Simon Balle All-Through 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 | 85% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 75% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 84% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Hertfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 48.6 | 44.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 52.9 | 44.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 55.4 | 44.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,597 |
| 2023/24 | 1,561 |
| 2024/25 | 1,561 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Simon Balle All-Through School compares
Simon Balle All-Through School ranked 29th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 88% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55.4 | 5% | 10.7% | 1,617 | — |
| Ark John Keats Academy | 50.1 | 5.9% | 45.4% | 1,732 | 8.9 miles |
| Samuel Ryder Academy | 56.5 | 6.9% | 19% | 1,577 | 11.0 miles |
| Abel Smith School | — | 4.4% | 15.9% | 226 | 0.2 miles |
| Richard Hale School | 56.3 | 5.4% | 9.7% | 1,207 | 0.4 miles |
| Morgans Primary School & Nursery | — | 6.1% | 19.1% | 346 | 0.6 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)
- 10.69%
- English as an additional language
- 6.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.02%
- Persistent absence
- 10.83%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ark John Keats Academy8.9 miles
All-through · London
-
Samuel Ryder Academy11.0 miles
All-through · St Albans
-
Abel Smith School0.2 miles
Primary · Hertford
-
Richard Hale School0.4 miles
Secondary · Hertford
-
Morgans Primary School & Nursery0.6 miles
Primary · Hertford
Other schools in Hertford
Simon Balle All-Through School ranks 1st of the 12 ranked primary schools in Hertford.
- 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
- Stapleford Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Simon Balle All-Through School teach?
- Simon Balle All-Through School teaches children aged 4 to 18. It is an all-through school in Hertford.
- Who is the headteacher of Simon Balle All-Through School?
- The headteacher of Simon Balle All-Through School is Rachel Kirk and Mike Moss, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Simon Balle All-Through School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Simon Balle All-Through 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 Simon Balle All-Through School?
- Simon Balle All-Through School has 1,617 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 18.
- Is Simon Balle All-Through School full?
- Simon Balle All-Through School has capacity for 1,037 pupils and 1,617 on roll (156%), 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 Simon Balle All-Through School a faith school?
- No. Simon Balle All-Through School has no designated religious character.
- Is Simon Balle All-Through School a selective school?
- No. Simon Balle All-Through School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does Simon Balle All-Through School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Simon Balle All-Through School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Simon Balle All-Through School?
- Simon Balle All-Through School is part of THE LAUREL EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Simon Balle All-Through School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 85% in 2022/23 and 84% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Simon Balle All-Through School rank locally?
- Simon Balle All-Through School ranked 29th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 88% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Simon Balle All-Through School's absence rate?
- Simon Balle All-Through School's overall absence rate is 5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Simon Balle All-Through School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Simon Balle All-Through 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 2 July 2026.