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Sandringham School vs Verulam School

At a glance

Sandringham School and Verulam School are both in Hertfordshire and 1.1 miles apart in a straight line.

Only Sandringham School has a graded Ofsted inspection in our data (Outstanding, 2024).

Sandringham School had the higher Attainment 8 score in 2025-26 (provisional): 65.7 against 54.4 (a gap of 11.3 points).

Progress 8 was not published for 2025-26 (provisional) so this comparison relies on attainment.

Overall absence in 2024-25 was 5.1% at Sandringham School and 7.4% at Verulam School.

Sandringham School has 1,817 pupils for 1,278 published places (142%) and Verulam School has 984 for 1,135 (87%).

Built from the figures in the table below. Sources and years are given next to every figure.

Side by side

Sandringham School compared with Verulam School
Measure Sandringham School Verulam School
Ofsted
Overall Ofsted grade Ofsted MI, inspections to 31 May 2026 Outstanding 2024 No graded inspection in our data
School profile
Type GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract Academy converter Academy converter
Phase and age range GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract Secondary, ages 11-18 Secondary, ages 11-18
Location GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract St Albans, Hertfordshire St Albans, Hertfordshire
Pupils on roll GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract 1,817 984
Results and attendanceEach row shows the latest year both schools have a figure for. "Stronger" marks a gap big enough to matter in a year both schools report. Rounding-level differences are not marked. Attainment figures reflect each school's intake as well as its teaching. Progress 8 is the only measure here that adjusts for pupils' starting points.
Attainment 8 (average score) DfE KS4 results, 2025-26 (provisional) 65.7 Stronger 54.4
Progress 8 score DfE KS4 results, 2023-24 Progress 8 was not published for the 2025-26 (provisional) results because the Department for Education did not calculate it for that cohort. The last published year is shown. +1.06 Stronger +0.40
Grade 5+ in English and maths DfE KS4 results, 2025-26 (provisional) 84% Stronger 64%
Grade 4+ in English and maths DfE KS4 results, 2025-26 (provisional) 91% Stronger 78%
Pupils at the end of key stage 4 DfE KS4 results, 2025-26 (provisional) 243 173
A-level average point score DfE A-level results, 2024-25 42.11 Stronger 32.24
A-level average grade DfE A-level results, 2024-25 B+ C+
A-level students in the point score measure DfE A-level results, 2024-25 290 99
Overall absence (lower is better) DfE pupil absence, 2024-25 5.1% Stronger 7.4%
Persistent absence (lower is better) DfE pupil absence, 2024-25 Share of pupils missing 10% or more of sessions. 11.0% Stronger 21.2%
Intake and admissionsNot marked as stronger or weaker. These rows describe who a school serves and how its places are filled. They do not measure teaching quality so a higher or lower figure is not better.
Pupils eligible for free school meals GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract 7.6% 13.8%
Published capacity (places) GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract 1,278 1,135
Pupils on roll as % of capacity GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract, pupils divided by capacity 142% 87%
Admissions policy GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract Non-selective Non-selective
Religious character GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract None recorded None recorded

"Not published" means the figure is not published or is suppressed for that school and year. It does not mean zero.

Trends over time

Solid blue line with round markers: Sandringham School. Dashed amber line with square markers: Verulam School. Years with no published figure for either school are left off the axis.

Attainment 8 (average score), higher is better
Attainment 8 (average score) by yearSandringham School: 2022-23 61.2, 2023-24 64.6, 2024-25 65.1, 2025-26 65.7. Verulam School: 2022-23 55.3, 2023-24 51.8, 2024-25 52.5, 2025-26 54.4.50.055.060.065.070.022-2323-2424-2525-26
Show these figures as a table
YearSandringham SchoolVerulam School
2022-2361.255.3
2023-2464.651.8
2024-2565.152.5
2025-26 (provisional)65.754.4

Source: DfE key stage 4 results, 2022-23 to 2025-26. The latest year is provisional.

Overall absence (% of sessions), lower is better
Overall absence (% of sessions) by yearSandringham School: 2018-19 3.8%, 2021-22 5.9%, 2022-23 5.6%, 2023-24 5.2%, 2024-25 5.1%. Verulam School: 2018-19 5.6%, 2021-22 9.5%, 2022-23 8.3%, 2023-24 8.2%, 2024-25 7.4%.2.04.06.08.010.018-1921-2222-2323-2424-25
Show these figures as a table
YearSandringham SchoolVerulam School
2018-193.8%5.6%
2021-225.9%9.5%
2022-235.6%8.3%
2023-245.2%8.2%
2024-255.1%7.4%

Source: DfE pupil absence, 2018-19 to 2024-25.

Grade 5+ in English and maths (% of pupils), higher is better
Grade 5+ in English and maths (% of pupils) by yearSandringham School: 2022-23 75%, 2023-24 82%, 2024-25 84%, 2025-26 84%. Verulam School: 2022-23 65%, 2023-24 57%, 2024-25 55%, 2025-26 64%.506070809022-2323-2424-2525-26
Show these figures as a table
YearSandringham SchoolVerulam School
2022-2375%65%
2023-2482%57%
2024-2584%55%
2025-26 (provisional)84%64%

Source: DfE key stage 4 results, 2022-23 to 2025-26. The latest year is provisional.

Admissions: how the two schools differ

Distance between the schools: 1.1 miles in a straight line between the two school sites. The coordinates come from the GIAS (DfE) March 2026 extract. This is not a walking or driving distance and it does not show which school your address is in catchment for.

How full they are: pupils on roll divided by published capacity from the GIAS (DfE) March 2026 extract. Both figures cover every year group (including any sixth form). Treat the percentage as a rough guide to demand rather than the size of the Year 7 intake.

Sandringham School

Capacity
1,278 places
Pupils on roll
1,817
Full
142% (at or over capacity)
Admissions policy
Non-selective
Religious character
None recorded

Source: GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract. Each school's own admissions policy sets its oversubscription criteria. It is published by Hertfordshire (official admissions page) or by the school.

Check the catchment for your postcode Sandringham School catchment page

Verulam School

Capacity
1,135 places
Pupils on roll
984
Full
87%
Admissions policy
Non-selective
Religious character
None recorded

Source: GIAS (DfE), March 2026 extract. Each school's own admissions policy sets its oversubscription criteria. It is published by Hertfordshire (official admissions page) or by the school.

Check the catchment for your postcode Verulam School catchment page

Sources

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Attainment 8 and Progress 8 are only comparable between schools within the same year.

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