Best Private Schools in Hertfordshire: A Level Results Ranked

Haberdashers' Boys' School in Elstree tops the ranking of private schools in Hertfordshire with an average A level point score of 51.54, ahead of Haberdashers' Girls' School in Borehamwood on 50.94, St Albans High School for Girls on 49.71 and Merchant Taylors' School in Northwood on 48.58. Twenty-one independent schools are ranked here on a single measure, the average point score per A level entry (A* worth 60 points, A worth 50, B worth 40 and C worth 30), taken from the Department for Education's 16 to 18 performance tables.

The DfE expresses this average as a fine grade alongside the points figure: Haberdashers' Boys', Haberdashers' Girls', St Albans High School for Girls and Merchant Taylors' all return a grade A average, with Immanuel College in Bushey rounding out the top five on 47.1, a grade A-.

Which private schools in Hertfordshire have the best A level results?

The 21 schools span 51.54 at Haberdashers' Boys' School to 28.69 at St Albans Independent College, a gap of nearly 23 points on the average point score scale. Four schools clear 48: Haberdashers' Boys' (51.54), Haberdashers' Girls' (50.94), St Albans High School for Girls (49.71) and Merchant Taylors' (48.58), before a tight band of five schools between 44.7 and 47.1, Immanuel College, St Francis College, St Albans School, Berkhamsted School and Haileybury College, with Bishop's Stortford College close behind on 44.7, the first school in the table to drop to a B+ average.

A second cluster sits between 38.68 and 40.7: St Columba's College, St Edmund's College, Royal Masonic School for Girls, St Margaret's School and Queenswood School, all returning a grade B average within two points of each other. Below them, Tring Park School for the Performing Arts, The Purcell School and St Christopher School hold B- averages from 35.31 to 37.15, then Sherrardswood School and Aldenham School sit together on a C+ average of 34.44 and 33.9. St Albans Independent College, on 28.69, sits more than five points clear of Aldenham at the foot of the table.

Girls' schools cluster through the upper half of the table: Haberdashers' Girls' (2nd) and St Albans High School for Girls (3rd) sit in the top four, with St Francis College (6th), Royal Masonic School for Girls (13th) and Queenswood School (15th) spread through the middle; none falls into the bottom third. The two boys' schools, Haberdashers' Boys' and Merchant Taylors', occupy 1st and 4th, and co-educational schools fill the rest of the table, including both schools at the bottom, Aldenham School and St Albans Independent College. Boarding provision runs from 6th (St Francis College) to 20th (Aldenham School), with day and boarding schools distributed throughout the table, and cohort sizes vary sharply: St Francis College's rank of 6th rests on just 11 A level students, against 213 at Berkhamsted School (8th) and 169 at St Albans School (7th).

Entry points and fees at the ranked Hertfordshire schools

Fees and entry points vary widely across the ranking, so the table below sets them side by side for the schools with an admissions guide on this site; each figure comes from the school's own website and carries the academic year it applies to.

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Which is the best girls' school in Hertfordshire for A levels?

Haberdashers' Girls' School, in Borehamwood, returns the highest average A level point score among Hertfordshire's girls' schools, at 50.94 (grade A), placing it 2nd in the overall table.

St Albans High School for Girls follows on 49.71 (3rd overall), with St Francis College in Letchworth Garden City on 45.59 (6th), Royal Masonic School for Girls in Rickmansworth on 39.7 (13th) and Queenswood School in Hatfield on 38.68 (15th) completing the five girls' schools ranked.

Which is the best boys' school in Hertfordshire for A levels?

Haberdashers' Boys' School, in Elstree, has the highest average A level point score of any Hertfordshire private school, 51.54 (grade A), and is the higher-placed of only two boys' schools in the table.

Merchant Taylors' School in Northwood returns 48.58 (grade A) in 4th place. These are the only two boys' schools among the 21 ranked; every other school is either girls' or co-educational.

Which Hertfordshire private schools take boarders?

Twelve of the 21 ranked schools offer boarding alongside day places: St Francis College (6th, 45.59), Berkhamsted School (8th, 45.35), Haileybury College (9th, 45.23), Bishop's Stortford College (10th, 44.7), St Edmund's College (12th, 40.16), Royal Masonic School for Girls (13th, 39.7), St Margaret's School (14th, 39.17), Queenswood School (15th, 38.68), Tring Park School for the Performing Arts (16th, 37.15), The Purcell School (17th, 37), St Christopher School (18th, 35.31) and Aldenham School (20th, 33.9).

The remaining nine schools, including the top four in the table, Haberdashers' Boys', Haberdashers' Girls', St Albans High School for Girls and Merchant Taylors', are day schools only.

What does this A level ranking leave out?

The figures cover A level entries only, as recorded in the Department for Education's 16 to 18 performance tables, so a school where pupils also sit other qualifications will not have those results reflected in its average point score.

Cohort size is not shown in the ranking position itself: St Francis College holds 6th place on just 11 A level students, a far smaller group than the 213 at Berkhamsted School (8th) or 169 at St Albans School (7th), so a handful of grades can move a small school's average more than the same grades would move a large one.

How the schools are ranked

The ranking covers every independent school in Hertfordshire with a published average point score per A level entry in the Department for Education's 16 to 18 performance data, ordered from highest to lowest, with schools on the same figure sharing a rank. The figure counts A level entries only and is not adjusted for pupils' attainment on entry, and many of these schools select by entrance assessment.

The data is the Department for Education's own download from Compare school and college performance, so anyone can reproduce the order from the same file; the data year and source are listed in the key facts above.

Admissions guides for the ranked schools

• Haberdashers' Boys' School (ranked 1)
• St Albans High School for Girls (ranked 3)
• Merchant Taylors' School (ranked 4)
• Immanuel College (ranked 5)
• Berkhamsted School (ranked 8)
• Haileybury College (ranked 9)
• Bishop's Stortford College (ranked 10)
• St Columba's College (ranked 11)
• St Edmund's College (ranked 12)
• Royal Masonic School for Girls (ranked 13)
• Queenswood School (ranked 15)
• Aldenham School (ranked 20)

Related guides

• Best private schools in the UK and London by A level results
• Independent school fees compared
• What is a bursary? Private school bursaries explained
• 11+ and 13+ scholarship exams explained
• Boarding schools in the UK

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