Sir John Lawes School

Sir John Lawes School in Harpenden has been inspected for the first time since 2008 and has maintained its outstanding status across all areas evaluated. The school provides an exceptional environment for pupils, emphasizing its core values of Achievement, Care, and Excellence. With a well-planned curriculum and extensive support mechanisms in place, pupils are making significant academic strides, and the overall educational experience is enriched with a variety of extracurricular activities. The school community enjoys a culture of respect, safety, and high expectations, contributing positively to their personal and academic development.

Strengths

• Exceptional curriculum designed to support long-term knowledge and skills development.
• Strong extracurricular activities that positively impact student life.
• High expectations for pupil behaviour and performance.
• Excellent provision and support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Effective reading interventions promoting literacy and a love for reading.
• Strong emphasis on personal development and student leadership opportunities.
• A dedicated focus on high-quality careers advice and guidance.

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 Sir John Lawes School attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 7.5% 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, 1.2% of pupils at Sir John Lawes School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were 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 Sir John Lawes School had 18.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.9% 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, 13.1% of pupils at Sir John Lawes School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.0% 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 Sir John Lawes School received £7,707 and spent £7,637 for each of its 1,356 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,984,000 (£1,463 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of Scholars' Education Trust, income was £7,571 and spending £7,610 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.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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

Sir John Lawes School is part of Scholars' Education Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• Harpenden Academy Harpenden
• Samuel Ryder Academy St Albans
• Longdean School Hemel Hempstead
• The Hemel Hempstead School Hemel Hempstead
• Oakleaf Primary Hemel Hempstead
• Watling Lower School Dunstable
• Priory Academy Dunstable
• Dunstable Icknield Lower School Dunstable
• The Highfield School Letchworth Garden City
• Robert Barclay Academy Hoddesdon

What is Sir John Lawes School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sir John Lawes School is Outstanding, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was Sir John Lawes School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sir John Lawes School was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does Sir John Lawes School have?

Sir John Lawes School has 1,373 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sir John Lawes School cover?

Sir John Lawes School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Sir John Lawes School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 63.9, and 72% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Sir John Lawes School?

Sir John Lawes School is at Manland Way, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 4QP.