Townsend Church of England SchoolSandringham School
Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side in St Albans.
Summary of the comparison
Townsend Church of England School and Sandringham School are secondary schools in St Albans.
Townsend Church of England School scores 56 out of 100 (grade C, average) and Sandringham School scores 85 out of 100 (grade A, exceptional). Sandringham School is ahead on our composite score.
Townsend Church of England School was judged Good and Sandringham School was judged Outstanding.
On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 46.7 for Townsend Church of England School and 65.1 for Sandringham School.
GCSE Attainment 8 has held broadly level at Townsend Church of England School (46.5 in 2021-22, 46.7 in 2024-25) and has held broadly level at Sandringham School (64.6 in 2021-22, 65.1 in 2024-25).
Side-by-side comparison
| Measure | St AlbansTownsend Church of England School | St AlbansSandringham School | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Our score | C56/100 | A85/100Stronger figure | |
| Local ranking | 57th of 81 in Hertfordshire | 2nd of 81 in Hertfordshire Stronger figure | |
| Inspection | Ofsted: Good | Ofsted: OutstandingStronger figure | |
| School type | Voluntary aided school | Academy converter | |
| Phase | Secondary | Secondary | |
| Age range | 11-18 | 11-18 | |
| Gender | Mixed | Mixed | |
| Pupils on roll | 756 | 1,817 | |
| Capacity | 853 | 1,278 | |
| Location | St Albans, AL3 6DR | St Albans, AL4 9NX | |
| GCSE results | |||
| Attainment 8 | 46.7 | 65.1 Stronger figure | 46.0 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 40.1% | 83.5% Stronger figure | 45.4% |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 61.3% | 88.6% Stronger figure | 64.8% |
| Entering EBacc | 16.8% | 48.3% Stronger figure | 40.5% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.92 | 5.99 Stronger figure | 4.09 |
| Cohort | 137 | 236 | |
| A-level results | |||
| A-level entries | 28 | 290 | |
| A-level average points | 28.0 | 42.1 Stronger figure | 35.0 |
| A-level average grade | C- | B+ | |
| Best 3 A-levels points | 27.4 | 42.5 Stronger figure | 35.8 |
| AAB+ incl. facilitating subjects | 7.4% | 25.3% Stronger figure | 17.5% |
| Pupils | |||
| Pupils in the census | 756 | 1,817 | |
| Free school meals (ever 6) | 24.6% | 8.4% | |
| English as an additional language | 20.1% | 13.4% | |
| SEN support | 22.9% | 7.2% | |
| SEN with an EHC plan | 2.9% | 1.7% | |
| Attendance | |||
| Overall absence | 11.5% | 5.1% Stronger figure | 6.2% |
| Persistent absence | 32.9% | 11.0% Stronger figure | 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
A-level average points
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.
Townsend Church of England School
Sandringham School
Full profiles: Townsend Church of England School · Sandringham School