St Paul's Walden Primary School, Hitchin
St Paul's Walden Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Hitchin. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in March 2024. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 12th-highest of the 22 schools in Hitchin with published results, and 6,591st of 14,452 across England. It was 63% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2024)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 75 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Hertfordshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 1 Nov 2026
St Paul's Walden Primary School in detail
St Paul's Walden Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "In our school community, we work together to develop confident, successful and enthusiastic children, who care for each other and have a love of learning. We have high expectations for behaviour for learning and value the strong supportive links between parents and school."
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, cricket, choir, STEM, cooking and sewing.
Vision and values (school website)Clubs (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 86% of Year 6 pupils at St Paul's Walden Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 71% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 79% and 76% in Hertfordshire and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 85% in reading and 46% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at St Paul's Walden Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 11 families put St Paul's Walden Primary School as their first choice and 17 named it as one of their preferences, for 11 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at St Paul's Walden Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to St Paul's Walden Primary School are Breachwood Green Junior Mixed and Infant School (1.8 miles, Good, 71% reading, 71% maths); Kimpton Primary School (1.8 miles, Good, 77% reading, 62% maths); Preston Primary School (2.1 miles, Good, 64% reading, 55% maths); and Codicote Church of England Primary School (2.9 miles, Outstanding, 76% reading, 78% maths).
St Paul's Walden Primary School's 2025 results were higher than all 4 of them.
Breachwood Green Junior Mixed and Infant SchoolKimpton Primary SchoolPreston Primary SchoolCodicote Church of England Primary School
Who goes there
4.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (85%) and Mixed (10%).
In 2026, 18 pupils (24.3%) received SEN support and 4 (5.4%) 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.
Staffing
St Paul's Walden Primary School had 6 teachers in 2026, one for every 11 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of St Paul's Walden Primary School.
3 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is King George's Way (opposite), 290 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 8 crimes within a mile of the school, most often anti-social behaviour, public order offences and violence and sexual offences. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Hertfordshire (138).
Suspensions and exclusions
St Paul's Walden Primary School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
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; DfE school workforce census; 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
Early Years
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils join a school where they learn to be positive, resilient individuals. They attend school regularly. Pupils arrive happily in the mornings and enter school chatting cheerfully. They live out the school values in the local community too. Pupils eagerly take part in church and village events. These include a Christingle celebration and the annual 'Whitfest' music show. Feeling part of the school and local community helps pupils feel happy, safe and valued.
The nurturing environment and supportive community encourage pupils to be respectful and responsible. Pupils discuss the ways people differ kindly. This prepares them well for encountering people and places outside the surrounding villages. Pupils take on various roles, such as school councillors and sports leaders. These responsibilities allow them to contribute positively to school life. Buddying older pupils with younger ones ensures children feel comfortable from the moment they start the Reception Year.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
Leaders, including governors, galvanised school improvement. They work effectively with the local authority to identify and resolve issues. Leaders have put to bed shortfalls identified at the previous inspection. For example, there is a suite of effective events that support parental engagement. These include the monthly drop-in, half-termly coffee mornings and termly open class events. These allow parents to explore their child's learning and share feedback. Furthermore, leaders cultivate a happy workforce. Staff see how teamwork is key for ensuring the smooth running of the school. They happily lend a helping hand. They do this because they appreciate how leaders cater for their professional training and personal needs.
The school sensibly compiled its curriculum. Leaders have adopted high-quality schemes of work and produced some of their own. Considered two-year cycles ensure pupils in the mixed-age classes learn suitable content. The clarity in the curriculum means staff understand what to teach. It helps them to plan activities that support pupils' learning. However, leaders accept how the open-ended approach to assessment in some subjects is unhelpful. It does not neatly capture what pupils have learned to efficiently inform teaching. Because of this, staff are not routinely aware of what content they should home in on to maximise pupils' learning.
From Ofsted's March 2024 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 2024 inspection.
Rated Good for
Quality of education, Behaviour & attitudes, Personal development, Leadership & management, Early years.
At a Glance
27.0%
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 remained stable at around 86% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 46% to 71% (2024 to 2025). Writing has remained stable at around 71% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
17.7
Avg class size
15.5
Infant (KS1)
22.0
KS2
3
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with St Paul's Walden Primary School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near St Paul's Walden Primary School.
- Kids Choice St Pauls WaldenAt the school · Not yet graded
Nurseries
The nearest nurseries and pre-schools to St Paul's Walden Primary School, with their latest published grades:
- St Paul's Walden Nursery - Day nursery, under 0.1 milesOfsted, 21 October 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Breachwood Green Pre-School - Day nursery, 1.9 milesOfsted, 19 October 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
Term dates
St Paul's Walden Primary 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
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to St Paul's Walden Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. St Paul's Walden 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
- 1
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 1 road collision in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 1 slight.
The typical figure for schools in Hertfordshire is 9 (the median across 590 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight are DfT estimates (severity adjustment). Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at St Paul's Walden Primary School
Will you get a place at St Paul's Walden Primary School?
For 2026 entry it had 11 first choices for 11 places. The report sets your home postcode against these figures.
£9.99 once (inc. VAT; £19.99 for up to three schools), or Pro £9 a month, every report included, cancel any time. What's in the report
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
63%
Available places
66 pupils
105 places
39 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
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
Future places in the local planning area
DfE estimates the The Waldens Primary planning area (Hertfordshire) will have 173 spare primary places in 2027/28.
Source: Department for Education, School capacity: Academic year 2024/25 (published 19 March 2026), estimates of future school place demand by planning area. Council pupil forecasts against reported places, counting places councils and DfE plan to add or remove; rounded to whole places. Explore Education Statistics
Inspection History(7)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
18
SEN Support
4
EHC Plans
29.7%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
74
Total Pupils
47
Boys
27
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
6
Teachers
12.3:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£48,466
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,840
Per pupil
£552k
Total funding
£14k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.2%
Overall absence
6.9%
Persistent absence
58
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Questions parents ask about St Paul's Walden Primary School
What are SATs results like at St Paul's Walden Primary School?
Of the pupils at St Paul's Walden Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 86% reached the expected standard in reading and 71% did so in maths.
What is St Paul's Walden Primary School's Ofsted rating?
St Paul's Walden Primary School was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in March 2024. At its previous graded inspection in 2020 it was rated Requires Improvement.
Is it hard to get a place at St Paul's Walden Primary School?
St Paul's Walden Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 63% of its 105 places.
How big are the classes at St Paul's Walden Primary School?
Classes at St Paul's Walden Primary School average 17.7 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to St Paul's Walden Primary School?
St Paul's Walden Primary School has around 74 pupils on roll. 27% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at St Paul's Walden Primary School?
4.2% of sessions were missed at St Paul's Walden Primary School in 2024/25. 6.9% of pupils were persistently absent.
Does St Paul's Walden Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Kids Choice St Pauls Walden (registered, not yet graded).
What are St Paul's Walden Primary School's term dates?
St Paul's Walden Primary 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 St Paul's Walden Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 1 road collision in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 1 slight. The typical figure for schools in Hertfordshire is 9 (the median across 590 schools, same distance and years).
Where is St Paul's Walden Primary School?
St Paul's Walden Primary School is at Bendish Lane, Whitwell, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 8HX.
Sources: Hertfordshire term dates; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)