The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College
Warwick Road, Bishop's Stortford, CM23 5NJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Girls
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- HERTS & ESSEX MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Richard Paul
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Herts & Essex Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Hertford and Stortford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,360
- Pupils on roll
- 1,508
- URN
- 140786
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01279654127
About this school
The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College is a girls' secondary academy in Bishop's Stortford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,508 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College, 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
- 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 | 183 | 182 | 185 |
| Attainment 8 score | 61.7 | 63.3 | 63.6 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.60 +0.39 to +0.81 | +0.65 +0.43 to +0.86 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 73% | 76.4% | 75.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 93% | 89% | 93.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 67% | 67% | 61.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.7 | 5.8 | 5.8 |
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 The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College 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 | 61.7 | 44.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 63.3 | 44.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 63.6 | 44.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,483 |
| 2023/24 | 1,436 |
| 2024/25 | 1,450 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College compares
The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College ranked 8th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 95% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 63.6 | 7.5% | 5.6% | 1,508 | — |
| Hockerill Anglo-European College | 61.7 | 6% | 5.2% | 903 | 0.2 miles |
| Birchwood High School | 46.1 | 10.2% | 20.1% | 1,417 | 0.7 miles |
| St Mary's Catholic School | 57.6 | 5.9% | 10.4% | 1,106 | 0.8 miles |
| Avanti Grange Secondary School | — | 5.3% | 12.9% | 660 | 1.4 miles |
| The Bishop's Stortford High School | 60.2 | 5.2% | 6.3% | 1,279 | 1.5 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)
- 5.64%
- English as an additional language
- 15.1%
- Overall absence
- 7.54%
- Persistent absence
- 27.34%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hockerill Anglo-European College0.2 miles
Secondary · Bishop's Stortford
-
Birchwood High School0.7 miles
Secondary · Bishop's Stortford
-
St Mary's Catholic School0.8 miles
Secondary · Bishop's Stortford
-
Avanti Grange Secondary School1.4 miles
Secondary · Bishops Stortford
-
The Bishop's Stortford High School1.5 miles
Secondary · Bishop's Stortford
Other schools in Bishop's Stortford
The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College ranks 1st of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Bishop's Stortford.
- Birchwood High School Secondary
- Hockerill Anglo-European College Secondary
- St Mary's Catholic School Secondary
- The Bishop's Stortford High School Secondary
- All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery, Bishop's Stortford Primary
- Avanti Meadows Primary School Primary
- Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Elsenham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Farnham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hatfield Heath Primary School Primary
- Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Hillmead Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College teach?
- The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Bishop's Stortford.
- Who is the headteacher of The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College?
- The headteacher of The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College is Mr Richard Paul, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College, 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 The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College?
- The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College has 1,508 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College full?
- The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College has capacity for 1,360 pupils and 1,508 on roll (111%), 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 The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College a faith school?
- No. The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College has no designated religious character.
- Is The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College a selective school?
- No. The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College part of an academy trust?
- The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College is part of HERTS & ESSEX MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 61.7 in 2022/23 and 63.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College ranked 8th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 95% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College's absence rate?
- The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College's overall absence rate is 7.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College'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.