St Mary's Church of England High School (VA)

St Mary’s Church of England High School has shown notable improvements since its last inspection, moving from an 'Requires Improvement' to a 'Good' overall rating. The school is praised for fostering a positive community where pupils feel a strong sense of belonging. Students are well-prepared for their future careers due to a robust curriculum and solid support for personal development, including ample enrichment opportunities. However, while the curriculum design has improved, these enhancements have not yet translated into better examination results, indicating that further work is needed in this area.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate high ambitions for their learning and future careers.
• The school fosters a nurturing and supportive community.
• Behaviour of pupils is well-managed, creating a focused learning environment.
• The school effectively promotes pupils' personal development through various enrichment activities.
• Strong leadership and governance are evident, with effective accountability.
• Pupils benefit from meaningful work experience opportunities.

Areas for Improvement

• Teachers lack consistent guidance and training to support the specific needs of pupils with SEND.
• Effective support for pupils at the earliest stages of reading is insufficient.

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 St Mary's Church of England High School (VA) attended 91.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 25.3% 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, 9.4% of pupils at St Mary's Church of England High School (VA) were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 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 St Mary's Church of England High School (VA) had 14.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.6% 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, 13.6% of pupils at St Mary's Church of England High School (VA) were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.7% 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 St Mary's Church of England High School (VA) received £8,998 and spent £9,414 for each of its 982 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,331,000 (£1,355 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 St Mary's Church of England High School (VA)'s Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's Church of England High School (VA) is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was St Mary's Church of England High School (VA) last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary's Church of England High School (VA) was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does St Mary's Church of England High School (VA) have?

St Mary's Church of England High School (VA) has 911 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's Church of England High School (VA) cover?

St Mary's Church of England High School (VA) for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are St Mary's Church of England High School (VA)'s GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 42.8, and 38% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Mary's Church of England High School (VA)?

St Mary's Church of England High School (VA) is at Lieutenant Ellis Way, Cheshunt, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, EN7 5FB.