Ages 
Exemplary pastoral care + great teaching + emphasis on extracurricular = happy children reaching their potential. ‘It really works,’ say parents, ‘including for those children like mine that I think might have struggled elsewhere.’ Co-ed ethos coming along nicely too.
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Overview & data
- Pupil numbers
- 820 ·
- Sixth form numbers
- 160 ·
- Religion
- RC
- Fees
- £14,307 - £26,528 pa
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire County Council
- Area guides
Headteacher
Head
Mr Karl Guest
Since 2023, Karl Guest. Born and bred south Londoner (home is still Crystal Palace, where he heads at weekends), he was educated by the De La Salle Brothers and ‘always wanted to teach’. Degree in theology, master’s in philosophy and Old Testament
Entrance
Gently selective, catering for average ability and above. Into prep at 4+ via an hour-long informal assessment and at 7+ via maths, English and reasoning assessments, plus reference and school report. Into senior school at 11+ (when there are three
- Open days
- Sixth Form Open Evening: 9th November
Exit
Over 80 per cent move up from prep to seniors – pupils sit same paper as external candidates, but it’s ‘less formal’; the rest mainly to local state schools. Around 25 per cent leave after year 11, again mainly to state options but some in search of
Latest results
In 2025, 55 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 43 per cent A*/A at A level (72 per cent A*-B).
A levels or equivalent - Average points score (2024)
What is this?
These figures tell you the average grade and average points that pupils achieved in their academic qualifications. A maximum of 60 points are available for a grade A* at A level.
Teaching & learning
More mixed ability than the local powerhouses such as St Albans School, St Albans High School for Girls, Habs, Merchant Taylors’ etc – making the results all the more impressive. But while for some parents, this is the obvious backup, for others it’s
- Qualifications taken in 2024
- A level
- EPQ
- GCSE
- VRQ
Learning support & SEN
Seventeen per cent of pupils are on the prep’s SEN register (with school keeping an eye on double that number), rising to 36 per cent in seniors (46 per cent if you include undiagnosed pupils). Increasing numbers moving from other schools as
Arts & extracurricular
A forte, with pupils earning points through club participation for their SHAPE awards – a kind of home-grown DofE (which is also on offer, but only at bronze and gold). Sports get the biggest take-up, with music and language clubs close behind.
Sport
Head wants to raise the profile of sport – more fixtures, fine tuning the coaching, reinstating more tours etc. In prep, we saw younger ones doing high jumps and wondered if they could learn a thing or two from the elite senior school high jumper who
Ethos & heritage
Eye-catching backdrop, with Verulamium Park framing the cathedral that sits smack bang in the middle behind. ‘Wasted on the students, of course,’ laughed staff member. The college was founded in 1939 by Catholic layman Philip O’Neil in a Victorian
Pastoral care, inclusivity & discipline
Everyone here talks about ‘community’ and ‘family’, and you feel it in the bones of the school. Even the pupils pull out pastoral care as the single best thing about the school, telling us they feel ‘valued’ and ‘really looked after’. Parents, whose
Mobile phone policy
A clear mobile phone policy is a really important part of modern schooling. This school has provided us with their policy.
Mobile phone policy
Provided by the school and not part of our review Senior school students are allowed to bring their mobile phone to school, but once on site must turn it off and not access it during the school day. If they urgently need to contact home, students are able to ask to use them phone in the reception area.
Pupils & parents
No pupil mould, though perhaps not the best place for the single-minded scholar or more alpha types. Those we met were charming and without a smidgeon of arrogance. A few parents stinking rich, we heard, but others hadn’t even considered a private
Money matters
Means-tested bursaries are available from 11+, covering up to 95 per cent of fees. Academic and music scholarships at 11+ and 13+; academic, music, drama and sports scholarships at 16+.
- Fee information
- £14,307 - £26,528 pa
The last word
Exemplary pastoral care + great teaching + emphasis on extracurricular = happy children reaching their potential. ‘It really works,’ say parents, ‘including for those children like mine that I think might have struggled elsewhere.’ Co-ed ethos coming
