SchoolFacts.uk

Robert Barclay Academy

Secondary · Hoddesdon · EN11 8JY

Data updated

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Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 7 March 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

821 pupils · 87% of 940 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy sponsor led
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
22.6% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
8.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
12.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
6.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
www.robertbarclayacademy.co.uk
URN
143131

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 127 families named it first for 145 Year 7 places, 0.88 first choices per place. We hold 10 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2017 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. Ofsted last graded it Good on 7 March 2023, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 7.9% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.88 first-choice applications per place

145 places offered · 127 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: defined priority area.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Cutoff by admission criterion (2026 entry)

In Priority Area, Nearest School
3934.59 m (≈2.44 mi)
In Priority Area, Not Nearest School
2978.26 m (≈1.85 mi)

Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

107 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
44.2
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
57%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
39.3%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
3.7
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) C-
27.2
England 35

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school44.2
Median of its 12 closest peers43
Hertfordshire average50.9
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is in line with the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School)Harleston · 71 miles awayGood42.7
Claydon High SchoolIpswich · 54 miles awayExpected standard45
Beverley Grammar SchoolBeverley · 145 miles awayExpected standard46.2
The Trafalgar School at DowntonSalisbury · 92 miles awayGood44.3
Larkmead SchoolAbingdon · 55 miles awayGood39.4
Hanham Woods AcademyBristol · 109 miles awayGood44.1
St Benedict's Catholic High SchoolWhitehaven · 242 miles awayNo current grade41.2
Middlewich High SchoolMiddlewich · 142 miles awayGood41.2
Caldew SchoolCarlisle · 246 miles awayExpected standard44.3
Richard Rose Morton AcademyCarlisle · 248 miles awayGood43.4
Leigh Academy LongfieldLongfield · 28 miles awayGood40.2
Kingsbury Green AcademyCalne · 88 miles awayNeeds attention39.6

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 72% (Hertfordshire 60%, England 59%) · Any other White background 10% (Hertfordshire 9%, England 7%) · Any other Mixed background 5% (Hertfordshire 3%, England 3%) · Any other ethnic group 4% (Hertfordshire 2%, England 3%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Hertfordshire 3%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Hertfordshire 2%, England 2%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Hertfordshire 1%, England 1%) · Black African 1% (Hertfordshire 4%, England 5%) · Not recorded 1% (Hertfordshire 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Hertfordshire 3%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Hertfordshire 1%, England 1%) · other groups together 2%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
7.9%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
23.5%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

10.61 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Hertfordshire: 13.41 suspensions and 0.12 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
16.6
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

91% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 9% moved to another state school · 0% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

1.83% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

1.7% of teachers took sickness absence, 1 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £53,830; 14.3% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£7,593
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 79% (77%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (6%) · supplies and services 8% (11%) · educational supplies 6% (6%) · bought-in professional services 1% (1%) · catering 5% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £326,000; in-year balance +£444,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
97%
Continuing in education
94%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
1%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
24%
Apprenticeship
14%
Employment
48%
Any sustained destination
90%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher30.9%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications19.1%18.1%
In managerial or professional work41.2%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways14.1%18.1%
Residents in very good health50.7%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier81.4%62.3%
Social housing5.2%17.1%
Privately rented13.5%20.5%
Detached houses40.4%22.9%
Flats26.5%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms40.9%21.1%
Households with no car or van13.7%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01023321 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£435,000321 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£267,500–£675,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (79)£820,000
Semi-detached (56)£611,000
Terraced (63)£440,000
Flat (123)£250,000

Homes around this school are dearer than three quarters of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
3an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
3an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
16an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
2an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools