Gracewood Academy
Secondary · Potters Bar · EN6 1EZ
Data updated
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.
Inspected 2 November 2022
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
420 pupils · 39% of 1,082 capacity (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Academy converter
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Free school meals
- 29% of pupils (January 2026)
- Sixth form
- Yes
- URN
- 152099
In figures
For September 2026 entry, 31 families named it first for 108 Year 7 places, 0.29 first choices per place. We hold one Year 7 admissions round for it, 2026 entry, and it was not decided by a published distance. Ofsted last graded it Requires improvement on 2 November 2022, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 8.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.
Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026
0.29 first-choice applications per place108 places offered · 31 first-choice applications · usually has places
Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured
Catchment area
Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.
Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7
The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.
Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work
Compare admissions across the area: Potters Bar school admissions · Hertfordshire school admissions
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 60% (Hertfordshire 60%, England 59%) · Any other White background 11% (Hertfordshire 9%, England 7%) · Black African 6% (Hertfordshire 4%, England 5%) · Any other Asian background 4% (Hertfordshire 3%, England 3%) · Asian Indian 3% (Hertfordshire 4%, England 4%) · Any other Mixed background 3% (Hertfordshire 3%, England 3%) · Any other ethnic group 3% (Hertfordshire 2%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 3% (Hertfordshire 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Hertfordshire 3%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Hertfordshire 1%, England 1%) · Any other Black background 1% (Hertfordshire 1%, England 1%) · Not recorded 1% (Hertfordshire 1%, England 2%) · 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)
Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)
2 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
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
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 6/10around the middle for England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 8/10less deprived than most of England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 39.8% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 16.2% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 40.6% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 10.8% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 54.5% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 65.7% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 7.8% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 26.5% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 27.4% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 43.4% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 26.7% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 18.4% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01023580 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £615,000243 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £330,000–£812,500the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
Homes around this school are among the dearest tenth 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
- 0an urban school averages 2.0
- Collisions at school-run times
- 3an urban school averages 5.7
- All reported collisions
- 10an urban school averages 30.5
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 1an 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