Derwent Primary School
Hitchin Road, Henlow, SG16 6BA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- Derwent and Southill Federation
- Interim Headteacher
- Mrs Samantha Barlow
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Federation
- Derwent and Southill Federation
- Constituency
- Hitchin
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 419
- URN
- 109457
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01462812047
About this school
Derwent Primary School is a foundation primary school in Henlow. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 419 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 12 July 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 16 | 15 | 18 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 75% | 53% | 78% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 7% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 81% | 67% | 89% |
| Expected standard in maths | 81% | 67% | 94% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 88% | 73% | 89% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 105.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 109.0 | 103.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.40 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Derwent Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Central Bedfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 75% | 47.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 53% | 49.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 78% | 49.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 247 |
| 2023/24 | 300 |
| 2024/25 | 371 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Derwent Primary School compares
Derwent Primary School ranked 3rd of 48 primary schools in Central Bedfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 76% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 78% | 4.4% | 14% | 419 | — |
| Stondon Lower School | — | 4% | 8.6% | 136 | 1.2 miles |
| Raynsford Church of England Academy | 81% | 3.6% | 6.8% | 246 | 1.5 miles |
| Gothic Mede Academy | — | 5.3% | 17.4% | 249 | 1.5 miles |
| Clifton All Saints Academy | 65% | 3.9% | 10.8% | 229 | 1.8 miles |
| Meppershall Church of England Academy | 30% | 7.5% | 18% | 238 | 2.0 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 13.98%
- English as an additional language
- 7.3%
- Overall absence
- 4.37%
- Persistent absence
- 11.56%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Stondon Lower School1.2 miles
Primary · Henlow
-
Raynsford Church of England Academy1.5 miles
Primary · Henlow
-
Gothic Mede Academy1.5 miles
Primary · Arlesey
-
Clifton All Saints Academy1.8 miles
Primary · Near Shefford
-
Meppershall Church of England Academy2.0 miles
Primary · Shefford
Other schools in Henlow
- Raynsford Church of England Academy Primary
- Stondon Lower School Primary
- Henlow Church of England Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Derwent Primary School teach?
- Derwent Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Henlow.
- Who is the interim headteacher of Derwent Primary School?
- The interim headteacher of Derwent Primary School is Mrs Samantha Barlow, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Derwent Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Derwent Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Derwent Primary School?
- Derwent Primary School has 419 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Derwent Primary School full?
- Derwent Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 419 on roll (100%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Derwent Primary School a faith school?
- No. Derwent Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Derwent Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Derwent Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Derwent Primary School?
- Derwent Primary School is part of Derwent and Southill Federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Derwent Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 75% in 2022/23 and 78% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Derwent Primary School rank locally?
- Derwent Primary School ranked 3rd of 48 primary schools in Central Bedfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 76% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Derwent Primary School's absence rate?
- Derwent Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Derwent Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Derwent Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.