St Helen's Church of England Primary School, St Albans
St Helen's Church of England Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in St Albans. It has a Church of England religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in March 2015. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in June 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 19th-highest of the 32 schools in St Albans with published results, and 3,012th of 14,452 across England. It was 88% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2015)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- 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
St Helen's Church of England Primary School in detail
Results
In 2025, 93% of Year 6 pupils at St Helen's Church of England Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 79% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 79% and 76% in Hertfordshire and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 82% in reading and 80% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at St Helen's Church of England Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 29 families put St Helen's Church of England Primary School as their first choice and 48 named it as one of their preferences, for 29 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. 3 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at St Helen's Church of England Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to St Helen's Church of England Primary School are Beech Hyde Primary School and Nursery (0.3 miles, Good, 61% reading, 57% maths); High Beeches Primary School (1.8 miles, Outstanding, 98% reading, 95% maths); The Grove Infant and Nursery School (1.8 miles, Outstanding); and The Grove Junior School (1.8 miles, Good, 91% reading, 86% maths).
St Helen's Church of England Primary School's 2025 results were higher than 1 of these 3 schools.
Beech Hyde Primary School and NurseryHigh Beeches Primary SchoolThe Grove Infant and Nursery SchoolThe Grove Junior School
Who goes there
8.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 3.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 28 pupils (15.2%) received SEN support and 3 (1.6%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Harpenden Rail Station, about 2.4 miles away in a straight line.
10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is St Helen's School (outside), 40 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St Helen's Church of England Primary School stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 34 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage and arson. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Hertfordshire (138).
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, St Helen's Church of England Primary School issued 2 suspensions, 1.1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; 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
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from March 2015, 11 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils are happy to attend St Helen's. They are encouraged to do their best. Pupils show a high level of respect to each other and develop strong relationships with all staff. Pupils feel safe and know that staff will help them if they have any worries.
Pupils learn an ambitious curriculum. It helps them to achieve well. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Clear routines in the early years help children to develop positive behaviours towards their learning. Most pupils show these positive behaviours throughout the school. However, a minority of pupils do not always meet adults' high expectations.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school has a broad and ambitious curriculum in place for all pupils, including those with SEND. Curriculum documents clearly set out the important information that pupils need to know and remember from the Reception Year through to Year 6.
Staff have strong subject knowledge because of the training that they receive. Curriculum resources additionally help staff to develop the confidence and expertise they need to teach effective lessons. Teachers present lessons well and use a range of activities to engage pupils in their learning. However, teachers' checks on how well pupils remember important information are inconsistent. Often, these checks are not used effectively to adapt teaching to ensure pupils have the knowledge they need. When this happens, pupils move on to new content before they are ready. This means that some pupils' knowledge is not as secure as it should be.
From Ofsted's June 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its March 2015 inspection - down from Outstanding.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
8.7%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 82% to 93% (2024 to 2025). Maths has remained stable at around 79% (2024 to 2025). Writing has improved from 80% to 86% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
26.5
Avg class size
24.3
Infant (KS1)
28.7
KS2
6
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with St Helen's Church of England Primary School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near St Helen's Church of England Primary School.
- Junior Adventures Group @ St Helens CofE Primary School AL4At the school · Not yet graded
- W.A.S.P.S. (Wheathampstead Afterschool Playscheme) After School Club580m away · Not yet graded
- Ultimate Activity Camps at St. Albans High School Prep590m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
St Helen's Church of England Primary School is a voluntary aided school, 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 St Helen's Church of England Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. St Helen's Church of England Primary 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
- 3
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 2 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
1 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 St Helen's Church of England Primary School
Will you get a place at St Helen's Church of England Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against St Helen's Church of England Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for St Helen's Church of England Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to St Helen's Church of England Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Hertfordshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at St Helen's Church of England Primary 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
88%
Available places
185 pupils
210 places
25 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - St Albans
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for St Albans
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: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(6)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
28
SEN Support
3
EHC Plans
16.8%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
184
Total Pupils
96
Boys
88
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
11
Teachers
16.7:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,942
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,292
Per pupil
£1077k
Total funding
£23k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.2%
Overall absence
8.1%
Persistent absence
160
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
St Helen's Church of England Primary School
Questions parents ask about St Helen's Church of England Primary School
What are SATs results like at St Helen's Church of England Primary School?
Of the pupils at St Helen's Church of England Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 93% reached the expected standard in reading and 79% did so in maths.
What is St Helen's Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?
St Helen's Church of England Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in June 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in March 2015, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for St Helen's Church of England Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When St Helen's Church of England Primary 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 St Helen's Church of England Primary School?
St Helen's Church of England Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 88% of its 210 places.
How big are the classes at St Helen's Church of England Primary School?
Classes at St Helen's Church of England Primary School average 26.5 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to St Helen's Church of England Primary School?
St Helen's Church of England Primary School has around 184 pupils on roll. 9% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at St Helen's Church of England Primary School?
4.2% of sessions were missed at St Helen's Church of England Primary School in 2024/25. 8.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to St Helen's Church of England Primary School?
Apply through Hertfordshire's coordinated admissions process, naming St Helen's Church of England Primary 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 St Helen's Church of England Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Junior Adventures Group @ St Helens CofE Primary School AL4 (registered, not yet graded). There are 2 more 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 St Helen's Church of England Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 2 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 1 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 St Helen's Church of England Primary School?
St Helen's Church of England Primary School is at Brewhouse Hill, Wheathampstead, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4 8AN.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)