1
Sandringham School
St Albans • Hertfordshire • AL4 9NX
1
21 Mar 2024
Top 10 Secondary schools in St Albans
Updated for the latest inspections (median graded year: 2024)
This Top 10 showcases secondary schools in the district of St Albans. It’s built from the latest graded Ofsted inspections. We rank Outstanding (grade 1) above Good (grade 2), then prioritise newer inspections. As tie-breakers, we consider the “Quality of education” sub-judgement (where available), then %FSM and school size.
Total secondary schools
12
Outstanding
6
Good
4
Median inspection year
2024
Ofsted grade mix (graded schools)
O: 60% · G: 40% · RI: 0% · I: 0%
2
Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School
St Albans • Hertfordshire • AL4 0TT
1
18 Jan 2024
3
Roundwood Park School
Harpenden • Hertfordshire • AL5 3AE
1
15 Jan 2024
4
Sir John Lawes School
Harpenden • Hertfordshire • AL5 4QP
1
22 May 2023
5
St George's School
Harpenden • Hertfordshire • AL5 4TD
1
30 Sep 2014
6
Beaumont School
St Albans • Hertfordshire • AL4 0XB
1
28 Apr 2014
7
Katherine Warington School
Harpenden • AL5 5FH
2
24 Apr 2024
8
The Marlborough Science Academy
St Albans • Hertfordshire • AL1 2QA
2
28 Jan 2024
9
Verulam School
St Albans • Hertfordshire • AL1 4PR
2
4 Nov 2018
10
Townsend Church of England School
St Albans • Hertfordshire • AL3 6DR
2
19 Jan 2015
How we rank these schools
- Headline Ofsted grade: Outstanding (1) outranks Good (2), then RI (3), then Inadequate (4).
- More recent graded inspection dates rank higher.
- Where available, we use the Quality of education sub-judgement as a tie-breaker.
- Lower free school meals (%) may break remaining ties.
- Larger roll (pupil count) is a final tie-breaker.
Only the ten highest-ranked schools are shown; we also list “near misses” just below.
About Ofsted grades
- Outstanding (1): Highest judgement across key areas.
- Good (2): Strong effectiveness; meets standards consistently.
- Requires improvement (3): Not yet good; clear areas to improve.
- Inadequate (4): Significant weaknesses found.
Ungraded Section 8 visits check whether the previous graded judgement still stands, but they don’t replace it.
Data freshness & coverage
We refresh inspections and school snapshots regularly. If a school was inspected very recently, its report may not yet appear here.
Top-10 pages only appear for areas with at least 10 secondary schools that have a graded Ofsted inspection.
Map of the Top 10
Also highly rated nearby
- St Albans Girls' School Not judged • Jan 2025
- Loreto College Not judged • Nov 2024