Katherine Semar Junior School

About Katherine Semar Junior School

Katherine Semar Junior School was judged Outstanding across all four graded areas in its most recent Ofsted inspection, which took place in March 2025. That includes the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management — each rated grade 1. The school has held an Outstanding rating since at least its previous inspection in 2013, so this is a consistent track record rather than a one-off result. On the most informative exam metric available, 79% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year. That is well above the Essex local authority average of 62% for the same measure, placing the school in the top 25% nationally and 8th out of 34 primary schools in Uttlesford. The average scaled scores in reading and maths both sit at 107, comfortably above the national benchmark of 100.

Looking more closely at the KS2 breakdown, the school performs particularly strongly in writing, where 90% of pupils reached the expected standard and 40% achieved a higher standard. In reading, 87% hit the expected level and 37% reached the higher standard, while maths saw 84% at expected and 43% at higher. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher standard across all three subjects combined was 21%. These figures suggest that the school is not just pushing pupils over the threshold but stretching a significant number further. The parent view survey, which collected 112 responses between September 2024 and September 2025, backs this up: 96% of parents said their child does well at the school, and 96% agreed the school has high expectations. 95% of respondents would recommend the school to another parent.

The school has a capacity of 270 and currently houses 249 pupils, so it is not oversubscribed to the point of being full. It serves a mixed cohort, with 12.4% of pupils eligible for free school meals, which is below the national average. Facilities include playing fields, a gymnasium, a library, music rooms, an ICT suite, a forest school area and a chapel. Sports on offer include rounders, cricket, football and netball, while clubs range from chess and choir to book club and gardening. The school has identified SEND provisions covering specific learning difficulties, speech and language needs, hearing impairment, physical disability, social and emotional mental health needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. However, the parent view data shows some concern here: 33% of parents disagreed that the school gives SEND children the support they need, though 67% agreed or strongly agreed. This is a school that suits families who value strong academic outcomes, a broad range of enrichment activities, and a consistent Outstanding rating, but those with children requiring SEND support may want to investigate further.

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