St Giles' CofE Primary School

About St Giles' CofE Primary School

St Giles' CofE Primary School in Hertsmere is a small Church of England primary that parents clearly want to get into. The school received 21 applications for just 11 places in the 2025/26 admissions round, giving it an oversubscription ratio of 1.91, meaning nearly two families applied for every spot. Of those 21 applicants, only five were offered their first preference, which underlines how competitive entry can be. The school has a capacity of 105 but currently has just 84 pupils on roll, so it is not full, yet demand still outstrips supply. ParentView data is not available in the school's records, so we cannot report a recommendation percentage, but the oversubscription figures alone suggest strong local confidence. The headteacher is Mark Pipe, and the school serves children aged 4 to 11. With 31 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals, the intake is more diverse than many local primaries, which may appeal to families looking for a genuinely mixed catchment.

Academically, St Giles' sits in the bottom half of schools nationally and locally. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, just 38 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a local authority average of 64 per cent. The school ranks 27th out of 29 primaries in Hertsmere and 308th out of 401 in Hertfordshire as a whole. Individual subject scores show reading as the relative strength: 54 per cent met the expected standard and 23 per cent reached the higher standard, with an average scaled score of 102. Maths and writing both saw 54 per cent of pupils at expected, but maths had a lower average score of 98. Only 8 per cent of pupils achieved the higher standard across all three subjects. The school's most recent graded Ofsted inspection in 2016 rated it Good overall, with Good for leadership and management and Good for early years provision. A subsequent ungraded inspection in 2021 confirmed the school remains Good.

The school offers a solid range of facilities for its size, including a library, sensory room, music rooms, forest school, ICT suite, sports hall, playing fields and a chapel. Sports provision covers football, gymnastics, rounders, tennis, dance and cross country, while clubs include coding, eco club, gardening and film club. For families with children who have additional needs, St Giles' has identified SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. The school does not have a nursery or sixth form. Given its oversubscription and small roll, this is a school that suits families who value a close-knit, Church of England setting and are comfortable with academic results that fall below the local average. The forest school and sensory room suggest a focus on wellbeing and outdoor learning alongside the core curriculum.

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