UK Schools
The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College
The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College is a girls' secondary academy in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire County Council, teaching 1,508 pupils aged 11 to 18. Ofsted rated it Outstanding at its last graded inspection in November 2023. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 63.6 (England 46.1). The 2026–2027 school year runs from 2 September 2026 to 16 July 2027.
Ofsted inspection
The latest published Ofsted judgement for The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College.
Scale: Outstanding Good Requires improvement Inadequate
Term dates & holidays 2026–2027
Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College.
- 1 CPD Day (No students in school)
- 2 Autumn Term begins (Y7 and Y12 students only)
- 3 Autumn Term begins (All year groups)
- 17 Open Evening (School closes 12:30)
- 18 CPD Day (No students in school)
- 26–30 Autumn Half Term
- 10 Open Evening (Sixth Form, school closes 12:30)
- 11 Lessons start 11:30 (Lesson 3)
- 18 Autumn Term ends (School closes 12:30)
- 21–31 Christmas Holiday
- 25 Christmas Day
- 26 Boxing Day
- 1–3 Christmas Holiday
- 1 New Year's Day
- 4 Spring Term begins (Y11 and Y13 students only)
- 5 Spring Term begins (All students)
- 15–19 Spring Half Term
- 25 Spring Term ends (School closes 12:30)
- 26–31 Easter Holiday
- 1–9 Easter Holiday
- 2 Good Friday
- 5 Easter Monday
- 12 Summer Term begins
- 3 Early May Bank Holiday
- 3 Early May Bank Holiday
- 31 Summer Half Term
- 31 Spring Bank Holiday
- 1–4 Summer Half Term
- 21–23 Sixth Form Induction
- 28–30 Activities Week
- 1–2 Activities Week
- 7 Awards Celebration
- 9 CPD Day
- 16 Summer Term ends (School closes 13:30)
- 19–21 Disaggregated CPD Days
- 22 Occasional Day
- 23–31 Summer Holiday
- 1–31 Summer Holiday
- 30 Summer Bank Holiday
- 1 Summer Holiday
Key dates (2026–2027)
- CPD Day (No students in school) Sep 1, 2026 Event
- Autumn Term begins (Y7 and Y12 students only) Sep 2, 2026 Term
- Autumn Term begins (All year groups) Sep 3, 2026 Term
- Open Evening (School closes 12:30) Sep 17, 2026 Event
- CPD Day (No students in school) Sep 18, 2026 Event
- Autumn Half Term Oct 26-30, 2026 Holiday
- Open Evening (Sixth Form, school closes 12:30) Nov 10, 2026 Event
- Lessons start 11:30 (Lesson 3) Nov 11, 2026 Event
- Autumn Term ends (School closes 12:30) Dec 18, 2026 Term
- Spring Term begins (Y11 and Y13 students only) Jan 4, 2027 Term
- Spring Term begins (All students) Jan 5, 2027 Term
- Spring Half Term Feb 15-19, 2027 Holiday
- Spring Term ends (School closes 12:30) Mar 25, 2027 Term
- Summer Term begins Apr 12, 2027 Term
- Early May Bank Holiday May 3, 2027 Holiday
- Summer Half Term May 31-Jun 4, 2027 Holiday
- Sixth Form Induction Jun 21-23, 2027 Event
- Activities Week Jun 28-Jul 2, 2027 Event
- Awards Celebration Jul 7, 2027 Event
- CPD Day Jul 9, 2027 Event
- Summer Term ends (School closes 13:30) Jul 16, 2027 Term
- Disaggregated CPD Days Jul 19-21, 2027 Event
- Occasional Day Jul 22, 2027 Event
- Christmas Holiday Dec 21, 2026 - Jan 3, 2027 Holiday
- Easter Holiday Mar 26 - Apr 9, 2027 Holiday
- Summer Holiday Jul 23 - Sep 1, 2027 Holiday
- New Year's Day Jan 1, 2027 Event
- Good Friday Apr 2, 2027 Event
- Easter Monday Apr 5, 2027 Holiday
- Early May Bank Holiday May 3, 2027 Holiday
- Spring Bank Holiday May 31, 2027 Holiday
- Summer Bank Holiday Aug 30, 2027 Holiday
- Christmas Day Dec 25, 2026 Holiday
- Boxing Day Dec 26, 2026 Event
Exam results & performance
The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College with Hertfordshire County Council and England.
Key stage 4 (GCSE) 63.6 Attainment 8 score
Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.
This school Hertfordshire County Council England
16 to 18 (A level & sixth form) 41 A level average point score
Results for students finishing post-16 study.
This school Hertfordshire County Council England
Attendance 27.3% Persistently absent pupils
Absence across the whole school year.
This school Hertfordshire County Council England
What pupils do after GCSEs 96% In education, apprenticeship or work
Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.
This school Hertfordshire County Council England
What students do after 16 to 18 study 92% In education, apprenticeship or work
Destinations the year after finishing post-16 study.
This school Hertfordshire County Council 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 The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College. 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 only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College 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.