Robert Barclay Academy
Cock Lane, Hoddesdon, EN11 8JY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SCHOLARS' EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Ced de la Croix
- Sponsor
- Scholars' Education Trust
- Constituency
- Broxbourne
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 940
- Pupils on roll
- 821
- URN
- 143131
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01992410800
About this school
Robert Barclay Academy is a secondary academy in Hoddesdon. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 821 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Robert Barclay Academy, 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
- 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 | 108 | 112 | 107 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.9 | 42.7 | 44.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.10 -0.37 to +0.17 | +0.11 -0.15 to +0.37 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 42% | 38.4% | 39.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 63% | 58.9% | 57% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 19% | 12.5% | 28% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
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 Robert Barclay Academy 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 | 44.9 | 44.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 42.7 | 44.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.2 | 44.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 707 |
| 2023/24 | 758 |
| 2024/25 | 792 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Robert Barclay Academy compares
Robert Barclay Academy ranked 55th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 53% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.2 | 8.3% | 24.6% | 821 | — |
| The Broxbourne School | 55.4 | 6% | 13.6% | 1,442 | 1.0 miles |
| The John Warner School | 40.8 | 11.6% | 19.3% | 726 | 1.6 miles |
| Haileybury Turnford | 43.3 | 7.5% | 33.3% | 1,021 | 3.0 miles |
| Presdales School | 58.9 | 7.8% | 11% | 1,167 | 3.4 miles |
| Richard Hale School | 56.3 | 5.4% | 9.7% | 1,207 | 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 24.64%
- English as an additional language
- 8.3%
- Overall absence
- 8.32%
- Persistent absence
- 23.31%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Broxbourne School1.0 miles
Secondary · Broxbourne
-
The John Warner School1.6 miles
Secondary · Hoddesdon
-
Haileybury Turnford3.0 miles
Secondary · Waltham Cross
-
Presdales School3.4 miles
Secondary · Ware
-
Richard Hale School3.7 miles
Secondary · Hertford
Other schools in Hoddesdon
- The John Warner School Secondary
- Forres Primary Academy Primary
- High Leigh Primary School Primary
- Roselands Primary School Primary
- Sheredes Primary School Primary
- St Augustine's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Catherine's Hoddesdon CofE Primary School Primary
- St Cross Catholic Primary School Primary
- The Cranbourne Primary School Primary
- Rivers Education Support Centre Local authority maintained schools
Common questions
- What ages does Robert Barclay Academy teach?
- Robert Barclay Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Hoddesdon.
- Who is the headteacher of Robert Barclay Academy?
- The headteacher of Robert Barclay Academy is Mr Ced de la Croix, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Robert Barclay Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Robert Barclay Academy, 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 Robert Barclay Academy?
- Robert Barclay Academy has 821 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Robert Barclay Academy full?
- Robert Barclay Academy has capacity for 940 pupils and 821 on roll (87%), so it has space against 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 Robert Barclay Academy a faith school?
- No. Robert Barclay Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Robert Barclay Academy part of an academy trust?
- Robert Barclay Academy is part of SCHOLARS' EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Robert Barclay Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.9 in 2022/23 and 44.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Robert Barclay Academy compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- Robert Barclay Academy ranked 55th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 53% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Robert Barclay Academy's absence rate?
- Robert Barclay Academy's overall absence rate is 8.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Robert Barclay Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Robert Barclay Academy'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.