Bowmansgreen Primary School

About Bowmansgreen Primary School

Bowmansgreen Primary School in St Albans holds a Good rating from Ofsted, a grade it has maintained across its two most recent inspections. The school’s most recent ungraded inspection in March 2025 confirmed that standards are being upheld, with leadership and management, early years provision, and overall effectiveness all rated Good. The most telling academic metric is the Key Stage 2 combined reading, writing and maths expected standard: 57% of pupils reached this benchmark in the 2023/24 academic year. That figure sits below the Hertfordshire local authority average of 64%, and places the school 32nd out of 40 primary schools in the St Albans area. Nationally, Bowmansgreen ranks in the 63rd percentile among all primary schools, and within the East of England it sits in the 58th percentile. The school’s ranking score of 57 places it in the bottom half of schools nationally, though it is worth noting that the school serves a community where 22.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is above the national average.

Looking more closely at the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, the picture is mixed. In reading, 75% of pupils reached the expected standard and 20% achieved the higher standard, with an average scaled score of 105. In maths, 71% met the expected standard and 10% reached the higher standard, with an average score of 103. Writing saw 67% at the expected standard and 10% at the higher standard. The combined expected standard figure of 57% is the headline metric used for the school’s ranking, and it is notably lower than the local authority average of 64%. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points. The school’s most recent graded inspection in February 2016 rated it Good across the board, a significant improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in October 2013. Ofsted’s 2025 ungraded inspection found that standards have been maintained since then.

The school is oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 academic year, there were 61 applications for 24 places, giving a ratio of 2.54 applicants per place. All 23 first-preference applicants were offered a place, suggesting that while the school is popular, local families who put it first are likely to get in. Facilities include a library, music rooms, an ICT suite, a gymnasium, a chapel, playing fields and an outdoor playground. Sports on offer include swimming, dance, cricket, cross country, gymnastics and athletics, and clubs include gardening, book club, science club, art club and coding. The school has identified SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing impairment and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses from 79 respondents between September 2024 and September 2025 show 62% would recommend the school, though concerns were raised about behaviour management and SEND support, with 38% of parents disagreeing that the school gives SEND children the support they need. This is a school that suits families who value a broad range of activities and a Good-rated setting, but who are aware that academic outcomes are below the local average and that some parents have expressed reservations about specific areas of provision.

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