Tewin Cowper Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

About Tewin Cowper Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Tewin Cowper Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School was rated Requires Improvement in its most recent Ofsted inspection in November 2024, a drop from its previous Good rating in 2015. The inspection found that the quality of education, early years provision, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management all require improvement, while personal development was judged Good. On the key academic measure for primary schools, just 30% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at the end of Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year. That is well below the Hertfordshire local authority average of 64% and places the school 319th out of 401 state primary schools in the county. Nationally, it ranks in the bottom 5% of schools on this metric, with a ranking score of just 30 out of 100.

Digging deeper into the KS2 results, there is a mixed picture across subjects. Reading is a relative strength: 89% of pupils reached the expected standard and 30% achieved a higher score, with an average scaled score of 107. Maths tells a different story, with only 59% reaching the expected standard and just 7% achieving a higher score, though the average maths score of 100 is exactly the national benchmark. Writing is the weakest area, with only 30% of pupils meeting the expected standard and just 4% achieving a higher score. The school has no progress scores available for any subject, so it is not possible to see how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. Ofsted's behaviour and attitudes rating of Requires Improvement may reflect some of the concerns raised in the parent view, where 18% of respondents disagreed that pupils are well behaved.

The school is a Church of England voluntary aided primary in East Hertfordshire, with a capacity of 175 and currently 165 pupils on roll. It is oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 academic year, there were 38 applications for just 9 places, with 8 of those going to first-preference families. Facilities include a sports hall, ICT suite, forest school, playing fields, music rooms and a chapel. The school offers a range of sports including cricket, football, rounders, netball, swimming and athletics, plus clubs such as gardening, chess and eco club. SEND provision covers specific learning difficulties, moderate and severe learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. The parent view, based on 70 responses, shows 86% would recommend the school, though responses on SEND support and behaviour are more divided. This is a small village school with a strong Church of England character that suits families prioritising a local, faith-based primary, but the academic outcomes and Ofsted rating are important factors to weigh up.

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