Dame Alice Owen's School is a mixed secondary academy in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire County Council, teaching 1,467 pupils aged 11 to 18. Ofsted rated it Outstanding at its last graded inspection in December 2023. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 72.9 (England 46.1). The 2025–2026 school year runs from 3 September 2025 to 17 July 2026.

Ofsted inspection

The latest published Ofsted judgement for Dame Alice Owen's School.

Latest inspection
Outstanding Overall effectiveness
Quality of educationOutstanding
Behaviour & attitudesOutstanding
Personal developmentOutstanding
Leadership & managementOutstanding
Sixth formOutstanding
S5 Inspection · Inspected 5 Dec 2023 · Published 29 Jan 2024
Read full Ofsted report ↗

Scale: Outstanding Good Requires improvement Inadequate

Term dates & holidays 2025–2026

Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for Dame Alice Owen's School.

Dame Alice Owen's School term dates calendar 2025–2026
Official term-dates calendar · 2025–2026 · source

Interactive Calendar

September 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1 Staff Development Day (No students)
  • 2 Staff Preparation Day (No students)
  • 3 Autumn Term begins for Year 7 and Year 12
  • 4 All students return
October 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 8 INSET Day (No students)
  • 27–31 Autumn Half Term
November 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 21 INSET Day (Twilight)
  • 24 Occasional Day – School Closed
December 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 19 Autumn Term ends
  • 22–31 Christmas Holiday
  • 25 Christmas Day (Bank Holiday)
  • 26 Boxing Day (Bank Holiday)
January 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–2 Christmas Holiday
  • 1 New Year's Day (Bank Holiday)
  • 5 INSET Day (No students)
  • 6 Spring Term begins
February 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
  • 16–20 Spring Half Term
March 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 27 Spring Term ends
  • 30–31 Easter Holiday
April 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1–10 Easter Holiday
  • 3 Good Friday (Bank Holiday)
  • 6 Easter Monday (Bank Holiday)
  • 13 Summer Term begins
May 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 4 Early May Bank Holiday
  • 25–29 Summer Half Term
  • 25 Spring Bank Holiday
June 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
July 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 17 Summer Term ends
  • 20–31 Summer Holiday
August 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–31 Summer Holiday
  • 31 Summer Bank Holiday
September 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1 Summer Holiday

Key dates (2025–2026)

  • Staff Development Day (No students) Sep 1, 2025 Inset Day
  • Staff Preparation Day (No students) Sep 2, 2025 Inset Day
  • Autumn Term begins for Year 7 and Year 12 Sep 3, 2025 Term
  • All students return Sep 4, 2025 Event
  • INSET Day (No students) Oct 8, 2025 Inset Day
  • Autumn Half Term Oct 27-31, 2025 Holiday
  • INSET Day (Twilight) Nov 21, 2025 Inset Day
  • Occasional Day – School Closed Nov 24, 2025 Event
  • Autumn Term ends Dec 19, 2025 Term
  • Christmas Holiday Dec 22, 2025 - Jan 2, 2026 Holiday
  • INSET Day (No students) Jan 5, 2026 Inset Day
  • Spring Term begins Jan 6, 2026 Term
  • Spring Half Term Feb 16-20, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Term ends Mar 27, 2026 Term
  • Easter Holiday Mar 30 - Apr 10, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Term begins Apr 13, 2026 Term
  • Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Half Term May 25-29, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Term ends Jul 17, 2026 Term
  • Summer Holiday Jul 20 - Sep 1, 2026 Holiday
  • New Year's Day (Bank Holiday) Jan 1, 2026 Holiday
  • Good Friday (Bank Holiday) Apr 3, 2026 Holiday
  • Easter Monday (Bank Holiday) Apr 6, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Bank Holiday May 25, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Bank Holiday Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
  • Christmas Day (Bank Holiday) Dec 25, 2025 Holiday
  • Boxing Day (Bank Holiday) Dec 26, 2025 Holiday

Exam results & performance

DfE performance tables Official results, 2024–2025 GOV.UK ↗
72.9 Attainment 8 England 46.1 Top 2%
87.5% Grade 5+ English & maths England 45.4% Top 4%
48.08 A level average score England 35 Top 3%
7% Persistent absence England 17.8% Top 16%

The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare Dame Alice Owen's School with Hertfordshire County Council and England.

Key stage 4 (GCSE) 72.9 Attainment 8 score

Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.

This school Hertfordshire County Council England

Attainment 8 score · Average across 8 GCSEs, out of 90 72.9
Hertfordshire County Council 50.6 England 46.1 +26.8 vs England
Grade 5+ in English & maths · A strong pass 87.5%
Hertfordshire County Council 53.4% England 45.4% +42.1 vs England
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils 51
Hertfordshire County Council 34.2 England 34.9 +16.1 vs England
Disadvantage gap · Attainment 8 points; smaller is better 24.2
Hertfordshire County Council 19.9 England 15.5 +8.7 vs England
Disadvantaged pupils in the year group · Context for the scores above 9.5%
Hertfordshire County Council 17.7% England 28.2%
Pupils in the year group · Small cohorts swing wildly 200
16 to 18 (A level & sixth form) 48.08 A level average point score

Results for students finishing post-16 study.

This school Hertfordshire County Council England

A level average point score · Per entry, 50 = A* 48.08
Hertfordshire County Council 36.82 England 35 +13.1 vs England
A level students · Small cohorts swing wildly 222
Attendance 7% Persistently absent pupils

Absence across the whole school year.

This school Hertfordshire County Council England

Persistently absent pupils · Missed 10%+ of sessions; lower is better 7%
Hertfordshire County Council 16.5% England 17.8% -10.7 vs England
Overall absence · Lower is better 4%
Hertfordshire County Council 6.5% England 6.8% -2.7 vs England
What pupils do after GCSEs 98% In education, apprenticeship or work

Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.

This school Hertfordshire County Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 98%
Hertfordshire County Council 95% England 92% +6 vs England
Same, for disadvantaged pupils 100%
Hertfordshire County Council 86% England 83% +17 vs England
What students do after 16 to 18 study 93% In education, apprenticeship or work

Destinations the year after finishing post-16 study.

This school Hertfordshire County Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 93%
Hertfordshire County Council 82% England 79% +14 vs England
Went to higher education 78%
Hertfordshire County Council 42% England 37% +41 vs England
About this data source & caveats

Progress 8 is not published for 2024–2025. This year group missed their key stage 2 tests in 2020, so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Attendance comparisons are pupil-weighted averages we calculate from every school’s published absence figure — the DfE absence file has no local authority or England rows of its own.

We show the headline measures only. Threshold and curriculum-policy figures — grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc entry and points, the per-subject key stage 2 breakdown, academic and applied splits at 16 to 18 — reflect admissions and curriculum choices more than school quality, so they are left to GOV.UK. Progress measures matter most because they compare pupils with others who started at the same level; attainment on its own largely tracks a school’s intake.

Figures are the Department for Education’s official published results for Dame Alice Owen's School. Results are suppressed where too few pupils were entered. England figures are the average for state-funded schools. “Top x%” is this school’s position among all schools in England with a published figure for that measure — the DfE does not publish league table rankings.

Source: Compare school and college performance, Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Location & catchment area

Indicative catchment Other secondary schools

Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to Dame Alice Owen's School than to any other secondary school. Real admissions depend on the school’s own policy (straight-line distance, siblings, faith, feeder schools and available places) and change each year. Always confirm with the school and local authority admissions team.