St Adrian Roman Catholic Primary School

About St Adrian Roman Catholic Primary School

St Adrian Roman Catholic Primary School is a state primary in St Albans, Hertfordshire, that sits seventh out of 40 schools in the local authority rankings, placing it comfortably in the top tier of its peers. It is a mixed, Roman Catholic school for children aged 3 to 11, led by headteacher Aideen Porter, with a current roll of 204 pupils against a capacity of 210. The school’s closest top-performing neighbours in the LA include Little Gaddesden Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School and Harvey Road Primary School, both of which share the highest ranking score, followed by The Russell School. St Adrian’s is also within two kilometres of St Michael’s Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, the nearest Outstanding-rated school in the area. The school’s own most recent graded Ofsted inspection, in 2016, awarded it an overall Good rating, and an ungraded inspection in December 2022 confirmed it remains Good. That marks a clear improvement from its previous graded inspection in 2014, when it was judged to require improvement.

Academically, St Adrian’s performs well above the local average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 86% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a Hertfordshire LA average of 64%. The school’s reading results are particularly strong: 97% of pupils reached the expected standard and 59% achieved a higher standard. In maths, 90% met the expected level and 45% reached the higher standard, while in writing 93% met expectations and 21% achieved the higher mark. Average scaled scores were 112 in reading and 109 in maths. The school’s national ranking for the combined expected standard places it in the top 5% of all primary schools in England, and in the top 4% within the East of England region. Progress scores are not available in the data, but the attainment figures alone suggest a school that consistently delivers strong outcomes for its pupils.

The school offers a nursery provision and a range of facilities including art studios, a gymnasium, music rooms, playing fields, a forest school and a chapel. Sports on offer include netball, swimming, tennis, cricket, rounders and gymnastics, and there are clubs such as book club, choir and coding. St Adrian’s has identified SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and hearing impairment. For the 2025/26 intake, the school was oversubscribed: it received 46 applications for 20 places, with 19 first-preference offers made from 19 first-preference applications, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.3. This is a school that local families clearly want to get into, and its strong academic record, faith character and broad extracurricular offer make it a particularly good fit for Catholic families in St Albans who prioritise high attainment and a well-supported, active school day.

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