Birchwood High SchoolForest Hall School
Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side.
Summary of the comparison
Birchwood High School and Forest Hall School are secondary schools.
Birchwood High School scores 56 out of 100 (grade C, average) and Forest Hall School scores 55 out of 100 (grade C, average). Birchwood High School is ahead on our composite score.
Birchwood High School was judged the expected standard and Forest Hall School was judged the expected standard.
On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 45.5 for Birchwood High School and 42.8 for Forest Hall School.
GCSE Attainment 8 has fallen at Birchwood High School (48.2 in 2021-22, 45.5 in 2025-26) and has risen at Forest Hall School (40.6 in 2021-22, 42.8 in 2025-26).
Side-by-side comparison
| Measure | Bishop's StortfordBirchwood High School | Stansted MountfitchetForest Hall School | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Our score | C56/100Stronger figure | C55/100 | |
| Local ranking | 59th of 81 in Hertfordshire | 39th of 80 in Essex | |
| Inspection | Ofsted: Good | Ofsted: Expected | |
| School type | Academy converter | Academy sponsor led | |
| Phase | Secondary | Secondary | |
| Age range | 11-18 | 11-16 | |
| Gender | Mixed | Mixed | |
| Pupils on roll | 1,417 | 506 | |
| Capacity | 1,500 | 648 | |
| Location | Bishop's Stortford, CM23 5BD | Stansted Mountfitchet, CM24 8TZ | |
| GCSE results | |||
| Attainment 8 | 45.5 Stronger figure | 42.8 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 44.2% Stronger figure | 41.8% | 46.3% |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 65.3% Stronger figure | 58.2% | 64.8% |
| Cohort | 265 | 98 | |
| A-level results | |||
| A-level entries | 79 | Not reported | |
| A-level average points | 32.1 | Not reported | 35.0 |
| A-level average grade | C+ | Not reported | |
| Best 3 A-levels points | 35.5 | Not reported | 35.8 |
| AAB+ incl. facilitating subjects | 10.0% | Not reported | 17.5% |
| Pupils | |||
| Pupils in the census | 1,454 | 472 | |
| Free school meals (ever 6) | 20.1% | 30.3% | |
| English as an additional language | 12.6% | 5.7% | |
| SEN support | 9.6% | 22.3% | |
| SEN with an EHC plan | 3.3% | 9.1% | |
| Attendance | |||
| Overall absence | 10.2% Stronger figure | 12.2% | 6.2% |
| Persistent absence | 29.9% Stronger figure | 37.8% | 15.8% |
marks the stronger figure on measures with a clear direction. Rows describing a school's intake, such as free school meals, English as an additional language and SEN, carry no marker: they describe who a school serves, not how well it serves them.
Historical trends
Each solid line is one school; the dashed line is the national average.
GCSE Attainment 8
GCSE Progress 8
Overall absence
Free school meal eligibility (ever 6)
Pupils on roll
Ethnicity over time
One panel per school: the largest groups across this comparison, one colour per group, on a shared scale.
Birchwood High School
Forest Hall School
Full profiles: Birchwood High School · Forest Hall School