Ashwell Primary School

About Ashwell Primary School

Ashwell Primary School is clearly a popular choice among local families. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 44 applications for just 30 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.47. Of those, 31 families put it down as their first preference, and all 30 offers went to first-preference applicants. That kind of demand is a strong signal that parents who know the school rate it highly. The school is a state primary for mixed-gender pupils aged 3 to 11, with a nursery on site, and it sits in North Hertfordshire under Hertfordshire local authority. With 228 pupils on roll against a capacity of 236, it’s running close to full, which matches the picture of a school that local families are keen to get into. The headteacher is Simon England, and the school has no religious character.

Academically, Ashwell performs solidly against local benchmarks. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 65% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That’s just above the Hertfordshire local authority average of 64%. Reading and maths average scores were 105 and 104 respectively, with 77% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading and 81% in maths. Writing was a little lower, at 69% expected. At the higher standard, 8% of pupils achieved the higher benchmark across all three subjects, with 31% hitting the higher standard in reading. Nationally, the school sits in the 44th percentile, and within the East of England it’s in the 39th percentile. In the North Hertfordshire local authority ranking, it comes 23rd out of 38 schools on the KS2 expected standard metric. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022 rated it Good overall, with Good for early years provision, leadership and management, and the school remains Good.

The school offers a good range of facilities for a primary of its size, including a gymnasium, sports hall, music rooms, art studios, an ICT suite, a forest school area and a chapel. Sports on offer include swimming, netball, cricket and rounders, and there are clubs such as coding, eco club, book club, chess and choir. For families with children who have additional needs, the school lists SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, hearing impairment and physical disability. With 7.7% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school’s intake is slightly below the national average for disadvantage. Ashwell suits families who want a well-regarded village primary with strong local demand, a broad set of activities, and a clear focus on core academic skills, all within a relatively small school community.

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