King James Academy Royston, Royston
King James Academy Royston is an all-through school for pupils aged 9 to 18 in Royston, part of The Diamond Learning Partnership Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in April 2024. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 68th-highest of the 78 schools in Hertfordshire with published results, and 2,555th of 3,298 across England. It was 70% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2024)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
- Progress (2024)
- Above average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Hertfordshire (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
King James Academy Royston in detail
King James Academy Royston in its own words
In its own words: "At King James Academy, we believe every child deserves the opportunity to excel, and we are committed to ensuring that each student is known, valued, and supported to achieve their very best."
Vision and values (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2026, pupils at King James Academy Royston averaged an Attainment 8 score of 40.5, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 50.6 in Hertfordshire and 47 across England.
25% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 53% in Hertfordshire and 47% in England.
That is in line with 2025, when the score was 40.3.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.19: pupils made above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.
Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 36.2, against 41.6 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 5.4 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Business Studies and Geography.
Getting a place at King James Academy Royston
For September 2026 entry, 3 families put King James Academy Royston as their first choice and 18 named it as one of their preferences, for 6 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 King James Academy Royston
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to King James Academy Royston are Bassingbourn Village College (2.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 44.7); and Melbourn Village College (2.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.7).
Each of them had higher 2026 results than King James Academy Royston.
The trust
King James Academy Royston is one of 15 schools run by The Diamond Learning Partnership Trust, an academy trust.
Where pupils go next
Of the 89 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 81% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 34% to a further education college, 5% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.
Of the 10 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 50% went on to university or other higher education, 10% to apprenticeships and 20% into work. 8% went to one of the most selective third of universities.
Who goes there
7.1% 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 1110 metres away (roughly a 14-minute walk).
4 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is King James Academy (outside), 70 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood King James Academy Royston stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, King James Academy Royston issued 218 suspensions, 23.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 2 permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to King James Academy Royston are Icknield Walk First School (0.2 miles), St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School (0.4 miles), Studlands Rise First School (0.6 miles) and Roman Way Academy (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Icknield Walk First SchoolSt Mary Roman Catholic Primary SchoolStudlands Rise First SchoolRoman Way Academy
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; 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 · 3 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Sixth Form
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its April 2024 inspection.
Rated Good for
Quality of education, Behaviour & attitudes, Personal development, Leadership & management, Sixth form.
About
King James Academy Royston (KJAR) is a through school located in Royston, Hertfordshire, England. It is an academy, and opened in September 2019, as a result of the merger of the town's two middle schools, Roysia and Greneway, and its Meridian upper school.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
18.6%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
Yes
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has declined from 0.31 to 0.19 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has declined from 44.7 to 40.5 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has declined from 38% to 25% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 40.5 | 24.5% |
| Disadvantaged(21) | - | 36.2 | 9.5% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(77) | - | 41.6 | 28.6% |
| Boys(44) | - | 35.2 | 13.6% |
| Girls(54) | - | 44.8 | 33.3% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(8) | - | 38.5 | 25% |
| Non mobile(92) | - | 40.7 | 23.9% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
+ 2 more subjects
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 89 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
2
Permanent exclusions
0.21%
Exclusion rate
218
Suspensions
23.22%
Suspension rate
70 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 939 pupils
2024/25 academic year
Keep up with King James Academy Royston
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near King James Academy Royston.
- Fair Play King James AcademyAt the school · Not yet graded
- The Outdoors Project Studlands Rise Holiday Club940m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
King James Academy Royston is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Hertfordshire's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to King James Academy Royston from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. King James Academy Royston 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
- 9
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 4
- Children hurt
- 2
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 9 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 5 slight.
2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
4 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 King James Academy Royston
Will you get a place at King James Academy Royston? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against King James Academy Royston's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for King James Academy Royston:
- The straight-line distance from your home to King James Academy Royston.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Hertfordshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at King James Academy Royston for 2020 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
70%
Available places
929 pupils
1,321 places
392 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
15,222
Applications
13,456
Got 1st preference
77.5%
Got preferred school
94.9%
All secondary applications across Hertfordshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(7)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
115
SEN Support
32
EHC Plans
15.5%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
947
Total Pupils
492
Boys
455
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
59
Teachers
16.1:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,534
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,185
Per pupil
£6222k
Total funding
£234k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
7.9%
Overall absence
20.5%
Persistent absence
966
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Questions parents ask about King James Academy Royston
What are GCSE results like at King James Academy Royston?
In the 2026 results, pupils at King James Academy Royston achieved an Attainment 8 score of 40.5. 25% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is King James Academy Royston's Ofsted rating?
King James Academy Royston was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in April 2024.
What is the catchment area for King James Academy Royston?
No fixed boundary. When King James Academy Royston is oversubscribed, Hertfordshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at King James Academy Royston?
King James Academy Royston was not full in 2025: it ran at 70% of its 1321 places.
How big are the classes at King James Academy Royston?
Classes at King James Academy Royston average 24.9 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to King James Academy Royston?
King James Academy Royston has around 947 pupils on roll. 19% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at King James Academy Royston?
7.9% of sessions were missed at King James Academy Royston in 2024/25. 20.5% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to King James Academy Royston?
Apply through Hertfordshire's coordinated admissions process, naming King James Academy Royston on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
Does King James Academy Royston have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Fair Play King James Academy (registered, not yet graded). There is another within a kilometre. The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
How many road collisions happen near King James Academy Royston?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 9 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 5 slight. 2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 on a bicycle. 4 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 King James Academy Royston?
King James Academy Royston is at Garden Walk, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 7JH.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)