UK Schools
The Reach Free School
The Reach Free School is a mixed secondary free school in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire County Council, teaching 734 pupils aged 11 to 18. It was last inspected by Ofsted in October 2024. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 44.2 (England 46.1). The 2025–2026 school year runs from 1 September 2025 to 21 July 2026.
Ofsted inspection
The latest published Ofsted judgement for The Reach Free School.
Term dates & holidays 2025–2026
Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for The Reach Free School.
- 1–2 Inset Days
- 1–30 Autumn Term
- 1–31 Autumn Term
- 3 Early closure for Open Day (12:45pm)
- 27–31 Autumn Half Term
- 1–30 Autumn Term
- 28 Occasional Day
- 1–19 Autumn Term
- 22–31 Christmas Holiday
- 25 Christmas Day
- 26 Boxing Day
- 1–2 Christmas Holiday
- 1 New Year's Day
- 5–6 Inset Days
- 5–31 Spring Term
- 7 Pupils return
- 1–28 Spring Term
- 16–20 Spring Half Term
- 1–27 Spring Term
- 7 Parents Consultation Day
- 13 Occasional Day
- 30–31 Easter Holiday
- 1–10 Easter Holiday
- 3 Good Friday
- 6 Easter Monday
- 13 Inset Day
- 13–30 Summer Term
- 14 Pupils return
- 1–31 Summer Term
- 4 Early May Bank Holiday
- 25–29 Summer Half Term
- 25 Spring Bank Holiday
- 1–30 Summer Term
- 1–21 Summer Term
- 22–31 Summer Holiday
- 1–31 Summer Holiday
- 31 Summer Bank Holiday
- 1 Summer Holiday
Key dates (2025–2026)
- Inset Days Sep 1-2, 2025 Inset Day
- Autumn Term Sep 1, 2025 - Dec 19, 2025 Term
- Early closure for Open Day (12:45pm) Oct 3, 2025 Event
- Autumn Half Term Oct 27-31, 2025 Holiday
- Occasional Day Nov 28, 2025 Event
- Christmas Holiday Dec 22, 2025 - Jan 2, 2026 Holiday
- Inset Days Jan 5-6, 2026 Inset Day
- Spring Term Jan 5 - Mar 27, 2026 Term
- Pupils return Jan 7, 2026 Event
- Spring Half Term Feb 16-20, 2026 Holiday
- Parents Consultation Day Mar 7, 2026 Event
- Occasional Day Mar 13, 2026 Event
- Easter Holiday Mar 30 - Apr 10, 2026 Holiday
- Inset Day Apr 13, 2026 Inset Day
- Summer Term Apr 13 - Jul 21, 2026 Term
- Pupils return Apr 14, 2026 Event
- Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 2026 Holiday
- Summer Half Term May 25-29, 2026 Holiday
- Summer Holiday Jul 22 - Sep 1, 2026 Holiday
- New Year's Day Jan 1, 2026 Event
- Good Friday Apr 3, 2026 Event
- Easter Monday Apr 6, 2026 Holiday
- Spring Bank Holiday May 25, 2026 Holiday
- Summer Bank Holiday Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
- Christmas Day Dec 25, 2025 Holiday
- Boxing Day Dec 26, 2025 Event
Exam results & performance
The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare The Reach Free School with Hertfordshire County Council and England.
Key stage 4 (GCSE) 44.2 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) 30.7 A level average point score
Results for students finishing post-16 study.
This school Hertfordshire County Council England
Attendance 25.6% Persistently absent pupils
Absence across the whole school year.
This school Hertfordshire County Council England
What pupils do after GCSEs 93% 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 88% 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 Reach Free 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 only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to The Reach Free 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.