De Havilland Primary School

About De Havilland Primary School

De Havilland Primary School is a state primary in Welwyn Hatfield, within the Hertfordshire local authority. It ranks 30th out of 34 primary schools in the Welwyn Hatfield area, placing it in the bottom half of local schools. The top-performing peers in the same authority include Little Gaddesden Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harvey Road Primary School, and The Russell School, all of which achieved the highest possible ranking score. Across Hertfordshire as a whole, De Havilland sits at 269th out of 401 primary schools, and the nearest school rated Outstanding by Ofsted is Countess Anne Church of England School, just 1.9 kilometres away. The school has a nursery provision and is co-educational, serving children aged 3 to 11. With 444 pupils on roll against a capacity of 450, it is operating very close to full. Over a third of its pupils (34.8%) are eligible for free school meals, which is significantly above the national average.

Academically, De Havilland’s most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023 rated it Good across all categories, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. This marks a notable improvement from its previous inspection in 2019, when the school was rated Inadequate overall. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 49% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared to the local authority average of 64%. The school’s average scores were 103 in reading and 102 in maths, both slightly below the national benchmark. A smaller proportion of pupils achieved the higher standard: 15% in reading, 13% in maths, and 7% in writing. Progress measures were not available in the data, but the school’s ranking places it in the bottom 50 nationally for the combined expected standard metric.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including a sports hall, art studios, playing fields, music rooms, a dining hall, and a chapel. Sports on offer include cricket, gymnastics, tennis, athletics, swimming, cross country, and rounders, while clubs range from drama and chess to film club, book club, choir, and eco club. De Havilland has identified SEND provisions for moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties or disabilities. For the 2025/26 intake, the school was oversubscribed: 96 applications were received for 48 places, with all 48 first-preference applicants offered a spot. This suggests strong local demand, particularly from families living closest to the school. De Havilland would suit families who value a Good-rated school with strong pastoral and SEND support, a wide range of extracurricular activities, and a clear upward trajectory from its previous inspection.

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