Ickleford Primary School

About Ickleford Primary School

Ickleford Primary School sits comfortably above the local authority average for Key Stage 2 outcomes, with 77% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared to the Hertfordshire average of 64%. That 13-point gap places the school in the top 25% nationally and 6th out of 38 primary schools in North Hertfordshire. The school’s maths results are particularly strong: 94% of pupils met the expected standard and 45% achieved the higher standard, both well above typical LA figures. Reading scores follow a similar pattern, with 90% at expected and 45% at the higher level. Writing is the relative weak spot — 77% at expected and just 16% at higher — but still in line with the combined headline figure. The school’s ranking score of 77 reflects solid, consistent performance rather than outlier brilliance, and it outperforms most of its immediate peers in the district.

In its most recent graded inspection in 2013, Ofsted rated the school Good overall, with leadership and management also judged Good. A subsequent ungraded inspection in 2022 confirmed the school remains Good. This is a step down from its previous Outstanding rating in 2008, but the school has held steady at Good for over a decade. The data shows no major red flags: behaviour and attitudes were not separately graded in the most recent inspection, but the school’s small size — 208 pupils against a capacity of 210 — suggests a close-knit environment where individual progress is tracked. Progress scores for reading, writing and maths are not available in the dataset, so it’s hard to judge how much value the school adds beyond raw attainment, but the attainment itself is clearly above average.

The school is Church of England, though the data doesn’t specify how that shapes daily life. Facilities include a gymnasium, sports hall, ICT suite, forest school area and a chapel, plus an outdoor playground. Sports on offer include football, cricket, gymnastics, dance and swimming, and clubs range from gardening to science and book club. SEND provision covers specific learning difficulties, speech and language needs, social and emotional mental health, and autistic spectrum disorder. Admissions are competitive: for 2025/26, the school received 129 applications for 30 places, with 39 first-preference applications and only 29 offers made to first-preference families — an oversubscription ratio of 4.3. This is a school that local families clearly want, and its strong but not stratospheric results make it a realistic target for parents who value solid academic performance within a small, community-focused primary.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Ickleford Primary School

Helpful Guides for Parents