Crabtree Junior School

About Crabtree Junior School

Crabtree Junior School is a state primary for children aged 7 to 11 in St Albans, Hertfordshire, and it is running at full capacity with 256 pupils on roll matching its 256-place school capacity. The school serves a notably affluent intake: just 0.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, far below the national average of around 23% and well under the Hertfordshire local authority average for primary schools. Despite this, the school is clearly in demand — it is ranked 10th out of 40 primary schools in the St Albans local authority area, placing it in the top 25% locally, and sits 21st out of 401 schools of the same type across the whole authority. Its closest outstanding-rated neighbour is Crabtree Infants' School, just 0.1 km away, suggesting a strong local cluster for families with younger children. The school is non-denominational and mixed, with Emma Simmons as headteacher.

Academically, Crabtree Junior School performs well above local and national benchmarks. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 85% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a local authority average of just 64%. The school also excels at the higher standard: 20% of pupils achieved the higher benchmark across all three subjects. In reading, 52% of pupils reached the higher standard, with an average score of 110; in maths, 43% reached the higher standard with an average score of 108. Writing saw 38% at the higher level. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in November 2023 rated it Outstanding across all five categories — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and overall effectiveness — a rating it has held consistently since at least 2009. Nationally, it ranks in the top 5.4% of all primary schools for combined expected standards.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including a library, music rooms, sports hall, ICT suite, dining hall, and a forest school, plus a chapel on site. Sports provision covers athletics, football, tennis, dance, cross country, gymnastics and cricket, while extracurricular clubs include science, chess, eco, art, book and gardening. SEND support is well-documented, with provisions for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, speech and language needs, hearing and multi-sensory impairments, autistic spectrum disorder, and social, emotional and mental health needs. For families considering Crabtree, the key takeaway is that this is a high-performing, oversubscribed junior school in a prosperous part of St Albans, with strong academic outcomes and a full range of enrichment activities. It will particularly suit families who value consistent Outstanding Ofsted grades and can secure a place in a school that is already at capacity.

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