Maple Cross Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery School

About Maple Cross Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery School

Maple Cross Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery School sits in Three Rivers, Hertfordshire, and its headline Key Stage 2 results present a mixed picture compared with the local authority average. The school’s proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined is 50%, notably below the Hertfordshire LA average of 64%. That 14-percentage-point gap places it 262nd out of 401 primary schools in the county, and 23rd out of 25 in the Three Rivers district — a bottom-50 ranking nationally on this metric. However, the picture is more nuanced when you look at individual subjects. In writing, 79% of pupils met the expected standard, which is a solid result, and in reading and maths it was 63% each. The school’s average scaled scores in reading and maths both sit at 101, exactly in line with the national average of 100, suggesting that while combined attainment lags behind, core skills are not far off the mark.

Ofsted last inspected Maple Cross in July 2022 and rated it Good across all five categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This is a consistent improvement from its previous inspection in 2011, which also awarded Good overall but rated early years provision as Requires Improvement. The school is small, with 164 pupils against a capacity of 240, and 21.7% of children are eligible for free school meals — above the national average for primary schools, which typically sits around 23%. The Progress 8 measure is not available for this school, so it is difficult to assess how much value it adds year on year, but the Ofsted report notes that behaviour and attitudes are Good, and the school has a sensory room, a forest school area, and a chapel on site, which are unusual facilities for a state primary.

Admissions data for the 2025/26 intake shows the school is oversubscribed: 39 applications for 28 places, with all 28 first-preference applicants receiving offers, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.39. This suggests it is a popular choice locally, particularly among families who live close enough to secure a place. The school offers a broad range of sports including swimming, athletics, cricket and gymnastics, and clubs such as eco club, drama and gardening. Its SEND provisions are comprehensive, covering dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional needs, speech and language challenges, multi-sensory impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. For families who prioritise a small, inclusive primary with strong pastoral support and a Good Ofsted rating, Maple Cross is a solid option, though those focused purely on academic league tables may want to compare it with nearby Chorleywood Primary School, which is rated Outstanding and sits just 3.2 km away.

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