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Best secondary schools in Bishop’s Stortford
Best secondary schools in Welwyn Garden City
There are five highly rated secondary schools in Bishop’s Stortford. Parents like boys-only Bishop’s Stortford High School for its emphasis on respect and working hard, as well as the extracurricular. And despite the reputation that it has for serving the more naturally academic, we found the less able are also encouraged to shine. The Herts and Essex High School and Science College is the girls-only option which manages to feel laid-back and fun, while at the same time focused and resolute in striving for the best. Both are semi-selective, with five per cent of (highly sought after) places allocated to pupils with a proven aptitude in music, and ditto for sport. On the non-selective co-ed front, Hockerill Anglo-European College is one of the most successful comprehensives in the country, offering the IB in sixth form, while Birchwood High School has a bigger catchment. St Marys Catholic School is a high performing faith school.
As for the wider county’s semi-selective schools, it all depends on how far you want your child to commute. The nearest is Leventhorpe School, where priority is given to eight feeder schools in surrounding villages, and their siblings, with 18 places for anyone with exceptional musical aptitude.
Best primary schools in Bishop’s Stortford
Best private schools in Bishop’s Stortford
Best nurseries in Bishop’s Stortford
There are three secondaries in the city, none of which locals feel set the world on fire, but Monk’s Walk School is considered the best of the bunch and it is regularly oversubscribed.
For girls only, there’s lots of choice slightly further afield including Bishops Hatfield Girls’ School, a highly regarded non-selective comp that lists Welwyn Garden City as a priority area, and Presdales School in Ware, known for its academics and have-a-go ethos. There’s also Loreto College, a Catholic secondary school and sixth form near St Albans.
A small contingent from Welwyn Garden City regularly heads off to semi-selective Dame Alice Owen’s School in Potters Bar. This purposeful school dazzles especially in academics and music, but it’s always hugely oversubscribed and you’ll only get in via entrance exams.
Best primary schools in Welwyn Garden City
Best private schools in Welwyn Garden City
Best nurseries in Welwyn Garden City
The local authority provides details online of its SEN provision and services:
The Valley School, for autistic children aged 11-16, is a warm and welcoming environment, and the school’s investment in young people extends to their life outside school. There are also two all-through special schools of note: Amwell View School in Ware and Lonsdale School in Stevenage, both mentioned in the primary school section.
Among mainstream schools with good SEN provision is Bishops Stortford High School, where parents and pupils praise the subject clinics aimed at pupils who struggle in specific subjects. With students arriving from around 40 primary schools to The Herts and Essex High School and Science College, the number of students requiring some level of support is often quite large, and parents say they manage it well. Hockerill Anglo-European College gets good SEN reviews too - ‘The transition in year 7 was faultless, with the school knowing all about our daughter and her needs before she’d even started,’ one parent told us.
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Need help? Perhaps you suspect your child has some learning difficulty and you would like advice on what you should do. Or perhaps it is becoming clear that your child's current school is not working for him or her, and you need help to find a mainstream school which has better SEN provision, or to find a special school which will best cater for your child's area of need. Our SEN consultancy team advises on both special schools, and the mainstream schools with good SEN support, from reception through to the specialist colleges for 19+. Special Educational Needs Index
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We examined the value-added from KS2 to GCSE for 2022 to see which state selective grammar schools added the most value to their offspring. A note of caution - the more highly selective a grammar school, the less scope there will be to add value.
Grammar schools are state-funded, academically selective senior schools. The education a child receives at grammar school is paid for by the state unlike at private schools which provide education for a fee. There are currently around 163 located in 36 English local authorities, with around 167,000 pupils between them. Northern Ireland has a further 67 grammar schools, but there are none in Wales or Scotland. A word of caution: there are private schools that have the word 'grammar' in their name but this is purely for historical reasons.
At specialist music, dance or performing arts schools, the arts aren't optional extras. They’re intrinsic to the school curriculum. Students are expected to fit in high level training and hours of practice alongside a full academic provision. It's a lot to ask any child to take on, but for those with exceptional performing ability this kind of education can be transformative.