Barnwell School

Barnwell School is a large secondary school with a sixth form, serving a pupil population with above-average proportions of pupils with SEND and education, health and care plans, and located in an area of above-average deprivation. The school has seen significant leadership change, with a new headteacher and executive headteacher appointed within the last 12 months. Safeguarding standards are met, and the school has an inclusive ethos. Pupils who attend regularly learn well, benefit from a broad and increasingly ambitious curriculum, and are supported by committed staff, strong pastoral care, and a wide range of personal development and careers opportunities. The main area of concern is attendance. Too many pupils do not attend regularly, which causes significant gaps in knowledge, lower achievement in national tests and examinations, and missed social and enrichment opportunities. Some groups attend less often than they should, and the impact of new attendance systems is not yet fully evident. Achievement therefore needs attention. Curriculum and teaching are generally effective, but on occasions teaching does not match the curriculum intent well enough, which limits how deeply pupils engage with and learn some content. Leaders have a clear and accurate view of the school's strengths and priorities. They have realistic plans for improvement, governors are increasingly providing appropriate challenge, and staff feel well supported. The sixth form provides a supportive and broad provision where most students achieve well, particularly in vocational qualifications and GCSE resits. The next steps are to improve attendance for all groups of pupils and to continue supporting staff to embed and sustain high-quality teaching across the curriculum so that all pupils achieve highly.

Strengths

• Staff are fully committed to supporting pupils' welfare and readiness to learn.
• Pupils' specific needs are identified swiftly and accurately, with tailored SEND interventions where appropriate.
• External professional advice is used effectively to inform staff training and pupil support.
• Teaching is carefully adapted so that all pupils, including those with SEND, can access the curriculum.
• Specialist teachers support pupils with EHC plans and help develop their social and emotional resilience.
• Counsellors and the school's therapy dog help promote and sustain pupils' mental health.
• Pupils who join mid-year are swiftly integrated into the school's inclusive community.
• Leaders work closely with local professionals and alternative provision providers to help pupils engage and progress.
• Pupil premium funding is used appropriately to support disadvantaged pupils' participation and aspirations.
• The curriculum is broad and increasingly ambitious, with a range of academic and vocational courses at key stage 4.
• Teachers consistently follow the 'Barnwell Way', helping pupils know what to expect and settle into learning.
• Leaders have improved staff expertise so that teachers typically deliver the intended curriculum well.
• Teachers check understanding carefully and adjust the curriculum to close gaps and address misunderstandings.
• Personalised reading support, including phonics, helps pupils who find reading hard to improve quickly.
• Leaders have a clear and accurate view of the school's strengths and areas for improvement.
• Improvement intentions are realistic and well considered, particularly around attendance and outcomes.
• Leaders track the quality of teaching and learning precisely to check how well actions are improving standards.
• New senior leaders have built successfully on the school's work and are raising expectations.
• The school makes decisions in the best interests of pupils, and staff go the extra mile to keep pupils safe and happy.
• Governors are well informed and increasingly provide appropriate challenge.
• Staff, including early career teachers, receive high-quality training, including on keeping pupils safe.
• Staff feel very well supported for their wellbeing and workload and enjoy working at the school.
• Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and learn about equality, faiths, and cultures.
• The personal, social and health education curriculum is comprehensive and generally well delivered.
• Pastoral leaders provide swift and effective support for pupils who feel unsafe or need mental health support.
• Pupils benefit from an extensive range of clubs, trips, and enrichment activities.
• The careers education and guidance provision is a strength, with wide employer and education encounters.
• Sixth-form students enjoy their studies and say the provision feels like a close family.
• Sixth-form students receive considerable support, including mentoring and applications guidance.
• The sixth-form curriculum is broad, diverse, and open to all, and vocational students achieve highly.
• Students who resit GCSEs are very well supported to gain qualifications for sixth-form courses.
• The majority of pupils behave well, classrooms are typically calm and focused, and bullying is increasingly rare.
• Pupils say the school is a safe and positive place to be, and they look out for each other.

Areas for Improvement

• Too many pupils do not attend school regularly, causing significant gaps in their knowledge.
• Pupils who do not attend regularly miss essential learning and do not achieve well in national tests and examinations.
• Some groups of pupils attend less often than they should, which negatively affects their achievement and enrichment.
• Some newly introduced attendance systems are too new for their full impact to be clearly evident.
• On occasions, the curriculum is not taught as well as intended, so pupils find it hard to engage and do not gain the depth of knowledge they should.
• Leaders need to ensure effective strategies are in place to improve attendance for all groups of pupils.
• Leaders should continue to support staff to embed and sustain high-quality teaching across the curriculum so that all pupils achieve highly.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Barnwell School attended 89.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 28.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 9.6% of pupils at Barnwell School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Barnwell School had 14.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.2% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 17.1% of pupils at Barnwell School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Barnwell School received £8,989 and spent £9,143 for each of its 1,270 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,773,000 (£1,396 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Stevenage · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Barnwell School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Barnwell School is Needs attention, from an inspection in February 2026.

When was Barnwell School last inspected by Ofsted?

Barnwell School was last inspected in February 2026.

How many pupils does Barnwell School have?

Barnwell School has 1,270 pupils on roll.

What age range does Barnwell School cover?

Barnwell School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Barnwell School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 38.7, and 33% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Barnwell School?

Barnwell School is at Barnwell, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG2 9SW.