Purwell Primary School

About Purwell Primary School

Purwell Primary School has strong parent endorsement, with 77% of respondents in the most recent Parent View survey saying they would recommend the school. That's a solid vote of confidence from the 74 families who took part. The school is also clearly popular on the ground: for the 2025/26 admissions round, it received 35 applications for just 11 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.18. Every one of those 11 places went to a first-preference applicant, which suggests local families are ranking it highly. Parents report high levels of satisfaction on several fronts — 91% agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy, and 86% said their child feels safe. The school also scores well on communication, with 91% agreeing they're made aware of what their child will learn, and 81% feeling the school lets them know how their child is doing. There's a little more division around how concerns are handled, but the overall picture is of a school that parents trust and want to get into.

Academically, Purwell sits comfortably above the local authority average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 70% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a Hertfordshire average of 64%. That places the school 12th out of 38 primary schools in North Hertfordshire, and in the top 50% nationally. Average scores in reading and maths both came in at 107, which is above the national benchmark of 100. Where the school really stands out is in maths: 81% of pupils met the expected standard, and 33% achieved the higher standard. Reading also performed well, with 85% at expected and 37% at the higher level. Writing is a relative weak spot — only 7% reached the higher standard — but the school's overall effectiveness was judged Good in its most recent Ofsted inspection in September 2024, a clear improvement from the Requires Improvement rating it received in October 2022.

Purwell is a smaller-than-average primary with 163 pupils against a capacity of 243, and it offers nursery provision for children from age three. The school has a notably high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 34.2%, well above the national average, and it provides support for a wide range of SEND needs, including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language difficulties, and social, emotional and mental health needs. Facilities include a gymnasium, sports hall, playing fields and an ICT suite, and there's a good range of clubs on offer — coding, drama, science club and eco club among them. Sports provision covers swimming, cricket, athletics and gymnastics. For families in North Hertfordshire, Purwell is a popular, improving school that combines strong academic outcomes with a genuinely inclusive intake, and the oversubscription figures suggest it's one to get on the list for early.

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