Official inspection reports and grades
Inspected 12 May 2026
Compared with the local authority and England
Attainment 8 scores a pupil's best 8 GCSE results, out of about 90. Progress 8 compares those results with pupils who started secondary school at the same level: 0 is average.
| Measure | School | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 47.9 | 50.6 | 46.1 |
Grade 4 is a standard pass; grade 5 is a strong pass.
| Measure | School | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 55% | 53% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% | 72% | 65% |
| 5 or more GCSEs at grade 9-4, including English and maths | 69% | 68% | 60% |
The EBacc is English, maths, science, a language, and history or geography. It is a set of subjects rather than a qualification.
| Measure | School | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entering the EBacc | 17% | 47% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.0 | 4.6 | 4.1 |
Based on 178 pupils at the end of key stage 4.
School workforce census, 2025/26.
Ofsted inspected John F Kennedy Catholic School on 12 May 2026 using a report card, which grades each area separately and gives no overall grade. The school met Ofsted's safeguarding standards. It was graded Strong standard for personal development and wellbeing; Expected standard for achievement, for curriculum and teaching, for inclusion, for leadership and governance, for post-16 provision and for attendance and behaviour.
Apply through the council where you live by 31 October in your child's Year 6, for a place starting the following September. You apply to your home council even if John F Kennedy Catholic School is in another council's area, and can usually list between 3 and 6 schools in order of preference. Offers are sent on 1 March, or the next working day. As a Roman Catholic school it may also ask for a supplementary form, and its admissions policy says whether it does.
No. Distance only counts when John F Kennedy Catholic School has more applicants than places. Then its admission criteria, set by its academy trust, decide who is offered a place first. Children in care or adopted from care come first by law. Most schools put brothers and sisters of current pupils next, then distance or a catchment area. As a Roman Catholic school, it can give priority to children on grounds of faith. How far away the last place went changes every year, depending on who applies.
John F Kennedy Catholic School had 1,073 pupils aged 11 to 18 at the latest school census. Its official capacity is 1,243. It is a mixed school with a sixth form.