Croxley Danes School

Croxley Danes School has demonstrated strong overall performance, highlighting a robust culture of safeguarding and effective leadership since its last inspection. Leaders have established high expectations for behavior and attendance, which have contributed to positive relationships among pupils and staff. Although the school caters well to all students, it has implemented thorough measures for inclusivity, ensuring that all pupils, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, are supported and included in the school environment. Despite these strengths, there are areas of concern related to personal development, particularly regarding the depth of knowledge retention across certain topics.

Strengths

• The school has a positive culture of safeguarding.
• Attendance is high due to effective leadership interventions.
• Pupils demonstrate positive relationships with each other and staff.
• A highly inclusive environment where all pupils feel welcomed.
• Strong leadership with a clear understanding of school strengths and areas for development.
• Highly ambitious curriculum adapted to meet diverse pupil needs.
• Well-established support mechanisms for pupils with special educational needs.
• A well-designed personal development program that provides relevant knowledge.
• High participation in clubs and extracurricular activities.

Areas for Improvement

• Some inconsistency in how teachers support pupils to respond to feedback.
• Pupils occasionally lack depth in recalling personal development curriculum topics.

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 Croxley Danes School attended 91.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 21.9% 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, 3.9% of pupils at Croxley Danes 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 Croxley Danes School had 15.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.0% 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, 10.0% of pupils at Croxley Danes School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.2% 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 Croxley Danes School received £8,248 and spent £8,165 for each of its 1,082 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £729,000 (£673 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of Danes Educational Trust, income was £7,961 and spending £7,847 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 Rickmansworth · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

Croxley Danes School is part of Danes Educational Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• Ascot Road Primary School Watford
• Lanchester Primary School Watford
• St Clement Danes School Rickmansworth
• Elstree Screen Arts Academy Borehamwood
• Jupiter Primary School Hemel Hempstead
• The Beaconsfield School Beaconsfield
• De Havilland Primary School Hatfield
• Onslow St Audrey's School Hatfield
• Chancellor's School Hatfield
• Roselands Primary School Hoddesdon

What is Croxley Danes School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Croxley Danes School is Expected standard, from an inspection in April 2026.

When was Croxley Danes School last inspected by Ofsted?

Croxley Danes School was last inspected in April 2026.

How many pupils does Croxley Danes School have?

Croxley Danes School has 1,049 pupils on roll.

What age range does Croxley Danes School cover?

Croxley Danes School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Croxley Danes School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 51.6, and 61% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Croxley Danes School?

Croxley Danes School is at Baldwins Lane, Croxley Green, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, WD3 3LR.