School Chooser

Falconer School

Special · ages 11-16BoysCouncil54 pupilsBusheyHertfordshire
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
Strong pass in English and maths0%England 46%
Attendance56.8%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families74%Far more than most schools
Places43 spare54 pupils, 97 places
Pupils per teacher2.5School workforce census
Pupils on roll54Census January 2026

Falconer School is a council special school in Bushey for boys aged 11 to 16. It has 54 pupils and room for 97. About 74 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England.

Falconer Road, Bushey, WD23 3AT020 8950 2505falconer.herts.sch.ukMrs Carmel Fox headteacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.

Results

GCSE results, summer 2025

19 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

Average GCSE score2.3
England 46.8
Official name: Attainment 8
Strong pass in English and maths0%
England 46%
Official name: Grade 5+ in English and maths
Standard pass in English and maths0%
England 66%
Official name: Grade 4+ in English and maths
Progress from age 11-1.91In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level. (From 2023/24, the latest year there is. The government didn't work it out for the 2025 year group.)Official name: Progress 8
Trend
Average GCSE score
2018 to 2025
2018: 20.220.220182019: 11.911.920192022: 8.08.020222023: 5.05.020232024: 6.06.020242025: 2.32.32025
Since 2018: -17.9
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023202220192018HertfordshireEngland
Pupils at the end of Year 11192214211714
Average GCSE scoreAttainment 82.36.05.08.011.920.250.946.8
Progress from age 11Progress 8-1.91-2.25-2.55-1.49-0.89
Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%53%46%
Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths0%0%0%5%0%14%72%66%
Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score0.210.550.420.740.911.714.584.15
Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry0%0%0%0%0%0%47%41%
Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged2.66.03.4
Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged1.75.97.2
Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers6.12.49.08.817.5

Subjects

Results came out for 3 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.

What is taught here

The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.

Every subject against England, 2025
Mathematics11 entries
0%England 53%
0%England 54%
SubjectEntriesGrades 9 to 7Grades 9 to 5Grades 9 to 4England 9 to 5Rank in England
Mathematics110%0%0%53%
English Language110%0%0%54%
Combined Science90%0%0%36%

In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. Every gap at this school is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At GCSE, 2025

Average GCSE scoreLow-income pupils vs other pupils
2.61.7
Gap 0.9England 12.2
Strong pass in English and mathsLow-income pupils vs other pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 22 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Hertfordshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll54Census January 2026
Places9756% full
Pupils from low-income families74%74% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English6%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%54 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)77%£45,100 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls54 / 0
White British pupils80%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Hertfordshire with social, emotional and mental health provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (30), emotional and mental health (13), language and communications needs (4), Moderate learning difficulty (3), Severe learning difficulty (2), Multi-sensory impairment (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll546685879489
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals74%73%68%58%62%58%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language6%5%2%2%2%0%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%0%0%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%100%100%100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 56.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance56.8%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school82.9%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils233.32024/25, 3 permanent exclusions
Missed without permission8.1%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence43.2%45.2%38.5%39.5%31.1%25.8%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence35.1%33.5%25.4%21.0%15.1%14.8%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence8.1%11.7%13.1%18.5%16.0%11.0%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence82.9%83.7%77.3%76.8%70.8%59.0%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate233.3127.177.0216.0155.1
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions30012

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 14 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training64%and stayed there for at least six months

Among pupils from low-income families it was 63%, compared with 67% for everyone else.

Earlier years
Destination2022/23 leavers2021/22 leavers2020/21 leavers2019/20 leavers
Still in education, work or training64%62%50%79%
Education57%62%44%74%
Apprenticeship0%0%6%5%
Work7%0%0%0%
Not in education, work or training21%14%11%21%

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers21.2full-time equivalent, 23 people
Pupils per teacher2.5Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers74%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants14.0full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£56,885
Teachers who left in the year25%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher10.72024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£65,789England £32,258. Total £4.3m
Income per pupil£59,960England £32,367. Total £4.0m
Spent on teachers per pupil£18,155England £11,930
Money in reserve-27%In the red: -£1.1m, -£16k per pupil. England 7%
Money in against money out-£385kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£65,789spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m15512 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate61 per 1,000 people34% lower than the England average
Typical house price£540,000Hertsmere
Nearest bus stop180 mThe Grange Academy, 11 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
The Grange AcademyAcademy120 m928No overall grade 202426Compare
Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and NurseryRoman Catholic370 m346Good 202389Compare
Bournehall Primary SchoolCouncil510 m205No overall grade 202476Compare
Bushey Manor Junior SchoolCouncil510 m235Good 202375Compare
Bushey and Oxhey Infant SchoolCouncil810 m176Good 202455Compare
Little Reddings Primary SchoolAcademy850 m312Good 202314Compare
Longwood SchoolIndependent970 m65Not inspectedCompare
St Margaret's SchoolIndependent0.6 miles799Not inspectedCompare

Questions parents ask

Is Falconer School a good school?

We don't have enough published data to score Falconer School yet.

How good are Falconer School's GCSE results?

In summer 2025, 0% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 2.3, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.

How many pupils does Falconer School have?

54 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 97 places, so it is 56% full. It is a boys' school.

What is attendance like at Falconer School?

Pupils were in school 56.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 83% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Falconer School have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It is a special school for social, emotional and mental health. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Falconer Road, Bushey, WD23 3AT
Telephone
020 8950 2505
Website
www.falconer.herts.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Carmel Fox
Type of school
Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 11-16
Gender
Boys
Local authority
Hertfordshire
Ward
Bushey St James
Constituency
Hertsmere
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
117686 · LAESTAB 9197033 · UKPRN 10014884

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from