The Knights Templar School

The Knights Templar School continues to perform well, maintaining its status as a good school since its last inspection in 2017. Pupils express happiness and safety while at school, showcasing positive relationships with staff and a commitment to their studies. Most students enjoy the rich variety of extracurricular activities and demonstrate a strong sense of responsibility, particularly in the sixth form. However, there are areas identified for improvement, especially concerning the management of assessment in some subjects and the coherence of the wider personal development program in the sixth form.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate a strong work ethic and enjoy their subjects.
• Positive relationships exist between staff and pupils, contributing to a supportive learning environment.
• The curriculum is well-planned and sequenced to promote knowledge retention.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive effective support.
• The school provides a wide range of extracurricular activities, including a popular Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, assessment practices do not effectively identify pupil learning gaps.
• The sixth form's wider development program lacks coherence and does not fully meet students' needs.

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 The Knights Templar School attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 17.1% 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, 5.9% of pupils at The Knights Templar 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 The Knights Templar School had 16.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.2% 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, 15.9% of pupils at The Knights Templar School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.8% 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 2024–25 The Knights Templar School received £7,663 and spent £7,682 for each of its 1,415 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £20,000 (£14 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

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What is The Knights Templar School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Knights Templar School is Good, from an inspection in June 2023.

When was The Knights Templar School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Knights Templar School was last inspected in June 2023.

How many pupils does The Knights Templar School have?

The Knights Templar School has 1,375 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Knights Templar School cover?

The Knights Templar School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are The Knights Templar School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 48.3, and 47% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Knights Templar School?

The Knights Templar School is at Park Street, Baldock, Hertfordshire, SG7 6DZ.