William Martin Church of England Junior School

About William Martin Church of England Junior School

William Martin Church of England Junior School in Harlow posts academic outcomes that fall notably below the Essex local authority average for primary schools. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, just 41% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a county average of 62%. That 21-percentage-point gap places the school 334th out of 444 similar schools in Essex, and 26th out of 28 in Harlow itself. The school’s ranking score of 41 puts it in the bottom 50% nationally. On individual subjects, reading and maths both returned an average scaled score of 102, while 64% of pupils met the expected standard in maths and 61% in reading. Writing lagged behind at 52%. At the higher standard, only 5% achieved in maths and writing, and 13% in reading. No pupils reached the higher standard across all three subjects.

The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection, in September 2022, rated it Good across all categories: overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. This is consistent with its previous Good rating from 2014, so the school has maintained its standard over time. With 245 pupils on roll against a capacity of 240, the school is effectively full. A relatively high proportion of pupils — 35.1% — are eligible for free school meals, which is above the national average and may partly contextualise the attainment figures. The school does not publish Progress 8 scores for its Key Stage 2 cohort, so it is not possible to measure how much value it adds relative to pupils’ starting points.

For families considering this school, the facilities are a real strength: there is a sports hall, gymnasium, library, music rooms, a chapel and a sensory room. The extracurricular offer includes netball, cricket, football, gymnastics, athletics, dance and cross country, plus clubs for gardening, book club, chess, coding and eco club. The school’s SEND provision covers a wide range of needs, including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health, speech and language needs, hearing impairment and autistic spectrum disorder. As a Church of England junior school, it serves the 7–11 age group only, with no nursery or sixth form. The nearest Outstanding-rated primary is Hare Street Community Primary School and Nursery, 1.6 km away, which may be worth a look for families prioritising top Ofsted grades.

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