Icknield Walk First School, Royston
Icknield Walk First School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 9 in Royston. It was rated Outstanding at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in July 2014. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in March 2025 did not change this grade. It was 99% full in 2025.
- Ofsted
- Outstanding (2014)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Hertfordshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Icknield Walk First School in detail
Icknield Walk First School in its own words
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, gymnastics, multi-sports, dance, recorder and chess.
The school runs a breakfast club and after-school care.
Clubs (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Getting a place at Icknield Walk First School
For September 2026 entry, 55 families put Icknield Walk First School as their first choice and 141 named it as one of their preferences, for 59 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Icknield Walk First School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Icknield Walk First School are St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School (0.3 miles, Outstanding, 83% reading, 79% maths); Studlands Rise First School (0.4 miles, Good); Tannery Drift First School (0.7 miles, Good); and Roman Way Academy (0.8 miles, Good).
St Mary Roman Catholic Primary SchoolStudlands Rise First SchoolTannery Drift First SchoolRoman Way Academy
What parents say
110 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Icknield Walk First School (as of September 2025): 96% would recommend the school, 96% say their child is happy there and 73% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that they are kept well informed about progress (97%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (73%).
Who goes there
11% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 9% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Royston Rail Station, about 1050 metres away (roughly a 13-minute walk).
8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Poplar Drive (s-bound), 110 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
Icknield Walk First School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Sources: DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from July 2014, 12 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's March 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
This school creates an enthusiastic, safe learning environment where children thrive academically and personally. The reading programme is a particular strength, with skilled teaching that helps all children develop confidence and love of reading. Children benefit from extensive enrichment activities, trips and mixed-age learning opportunities that develop important life skills like empathy, teamwork and responsibility.
Key Strengths
- Strong reading programme with effective phonics teaching and early support for struggling readers - pupils read confidently and fluently
- Excellent personal development with rich enrichment activities including trips, clubs and workshops that build empathy and social skills
- Well-designed early years provision that develops children's language, communication and social skills effectively
- Teachers have strong subject knowledge and adjust teaching to fill most gaps in pupil understanding
- Positive school culture where pupils feel safe, respected and eager to learn with mixed-age collaborative opportunities
Areas for Improvement
- Curriculum in a few subjects is not as clearly developed as others, meaning teachers are not always clear on what content to teach
- Teachers occasionally miss pupils' misconceptions, which slows progress as pupils build on insecure knowledge
- Need to ensure consistently clear curriculum planning across all subjects so pupils learn as well in all areas as they do in stronger subjects
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with leaders prioritising pupils' safety and well-being.
Extracurricular Activities
After-school clubs, educational trips, workshops, assemblies focused on personal responsibility
Icknield Walk First School is a good school where pupils attend with enthusiasm and behave well in a safe, supportive environment. The school has strong teaching in reading and generally well-planned curriculum, though some subjects need clearer development.
About
Icknield Walk First School is a larger than average first school located in Royston, Hertfordshire, England. It has approximately 335 registered students and has an overall 'Outstanding' Ofsted rating.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
11.0%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
110 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Class Sizes
28.7
Avg class size
30.0
Infant (KS1)
29.3
KS2
10
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from Icknield Walk First School
Protected: A super Start to Year 2
1 Oct 2026
Protected: Superheroes
1 Oct 2026
Protected: A Super Start to the Year!
29 Sep 2026
Protected: Sports Day
23 Jul 2026
Protected: Teddy Bears’ Picnic
23 Jul 2026
Protected: Habitat Hunting, Visit to Royston Cave and Mexico Day
23 Jul 2026
From Icknield Walk First School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Keep up with Icknield Walk First School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Icknield Walk First School.
- Fair Play King James Academy380m away · Not yet graded
- The Outdoors Project Studlands Rise Holiday Club560m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
Icknield Walk First School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Hertfordshire. Training (INSET) days, when pupils are not in school, vary by school: check the school's own calendar.
2026 to 2027
- Autumn term: Tuesday 1 September to Friday 18 December 2026 (half term Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026)
- Spring term: Monday 4 January to Thursday 25 March 2027 (half term Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February 2027)
- Summer term: Monday 12 April to Thursday 22 July 2027 (half term Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2027)
2027 to 2028
- Autumn term: Wednesday 1 September to Friday 17 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027)
- Spring term: Tuesday 4 January to Friday 31 March 2028 (half term Monday 14 February to Friday 18 February 2028)
- Summer term: Tuesday 18 April to Monday 24 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028)
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Icknield Walk First School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Icknield Walk First School is in Hertfordshire; for families living there:
- Hertfordshire's school travel policy: Read the home to school transport policy
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 6
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 2
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 6 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 5 slight.
2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Hertfordshire is 9 (the median across 590 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Icknield Walk First School
Will you get a place at Icknield Walk First School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Icknield Walk First School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Icknield Walk First School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Icknield Walk First School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Hertfordshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Icknield Walk First School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Hertfordshire got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
99%
Near capacity
296 pupils
300 places
4 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Royston
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Royston
Across Hertfordshire council
Places available
14,776
Applications
12,543
Got 1st preference
89.1%
Got preferred school
98.4%
All primary applications across Hertfordshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(6)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
50
SEN Support
11
EHC Plans
18.2%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
335
Total Pupils
169
Boys
166
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
18
Teachers
18.6:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£45,592
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,087
Per pupil
£1676k
Total funding
£41k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.2%
Overall absence
8.1%
Persistent absence
247
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Icknield Walk First School
Questions parents ask about Icknield Walk First School
What is Icknield Walk First School's Ofsted rating?
Icknield Walk First School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in July 2014, it was rated Outstanding.
What is the catchment area for Icknield Walk First School?
No fixed boundary. When Icknield Walk First School is oversubscribed, Hertfordshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Icknield Walk First School?
Icknield Walk First School was close to full in 2025, at 99% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at Icknield Walk First School?
Classes at Icknield Walk First School average 28.7 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Icknield Walk First School?
Icknield Walk First School has around 335 pupils on roll. 11% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Icknield Walk First School?
4.2% of sessions were missed at Icknield Walk First School in 2024/25. 8.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Icknield Walk First School?
Apply through Hertfordshire's coordinated admissions process, naming Icknield Walk First School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does Icknield Walk First School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists 2 out-of-school clubs within a kilometre of Icknield Walk First School: Fair Play King James Academy (380m away, registered, not yet graded) and The Outdoors Project Studlands Rise Holiday Club (560m away, registered, not yet graded). The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
What are Icknield Walk First School's term dates?
Icknield Walk First School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Hertfordshire. In 2026 to 2027: Autumn term: Tuesday 1 September to Friday 18 December 2026 (half term Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026); Spring term: Monday 4 January to Thursday 25 March 2027 (half term Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February 2027); Summer term: Monday 12 April to Thursday 22 July 2027 (half term Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2027). In 2027 to 2028: Autumn term: Wednesday 1 September to Friday 17 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027); Spring term: Tuesday 4 January to Friday 31 March 2028 (half term Monday 14 February to Friday 18 February 2028); Summer term: Tuesday 18 April to Monday 24 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028).
How many road collisions happen near Icknield Walk First School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 6 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 5 slight. 2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Hertfordshire is 9 (the median across 590 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Icknield Walk First School?
Icknield Walk First School is at Poplar Drive, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 7EZ.
Sources: Hertfordshire term dates; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)