William Harding School
Hazlehurst Drive, Aylesbury, HP21 9TJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Miss Trudy Cotchin
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, PD - Physical Disability
- Constituency
- Aylesbury
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 870
- Pupils on roll
- 798
- URN
- 110358
- Local authority
- Buckinghamshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01296421733
About this school
William Harding School is a community primary school in Aylesbury. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 798 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 125 | 122 | 123 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 59% | 65% | 67% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 5% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 74% | 78% | 79% |
| Expected standard in maths | 79% | 80% | 80% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 78% | 75% | 78% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 106.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.30 | - | - |
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 William Harding 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 | Buckinghamshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 59% | 59.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 65% | 61.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 67% | 63.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 821 |
| 2023/24 | 814 |
| 2024/25 | 808 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How William Harding School compares
William Harding School ranked 76th of 142 primary schools in Buckinghamshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 67% | 6% | 18% | 798 | — |
| Turnfurlong Junior School | 68% | 5% | 16.5% | 415 | 0.5 miles |
| Turnfurlong Infant School | — | 5.7% | 11.8% | 306 | 0.5 miles |
| St Edward's Catholic Junior School | 80% | 3.9% | 18% | 256 | 0.7 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic Infant School | — | 4.8% | 15.8% | 213 | 0.7 miles |
| Bedgrove Infant School | — | 5% | 6.7% | 449 | 0.7 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)
- 17.95%
- English as an additional language
- 39.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.96%
- Persistent absence
- 18.2%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Turnfurlong Junior School0.5 miles
Primary · Aylesbury
-
Turnfurlong Infant School0.5 miles
Primary · Aylesbury
-
St Edward's Catholic Junior School0.7 miles
Primary · Aylesbury
-
St Joseph's Catholic Infant School0.7 miles
Primary · Aylesbury
-
Bedgrove Infant School0.7 miles
Primary · Aylesbury
Other schools in Aylesbury
William Harding School ranks 16th of the 34 ranked primary schools in Aylesbury.
- Ashmead Combined School Primary
- Aston Clinton School Primary
- Bearbrook Combined School Primary
- Bedgrove Infant School Primary
- Bedgrove Junior School Primary
- Bierton Church of England Combined School Primary
- Brill Church of England School Primary
- Broughton Community Schools (Infants) Primary
- Broughton Junior School Primary
- Buckingham Park Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cuddington and Dinton CofE School Primary
- Elmhurst School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does William Harding School teach?
- William Harding School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Aylesbury.
- Who is the headteacher of William Harding School?
- The headteacher of William Harding School is Miss Trudy Cotchin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was William Harding School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected William Harding 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 William Harding School?
- William Harding School has 798 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is William Harding School full?
- William Harding School has capacity for 870 pupils and 798 on roll (92%), so it has space against 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 William Harding School a faith school?
- No. William Harding School has no designated religious character.
- Does William Harding School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records William Harding School as having no nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does William Harding School have?
- The schools register lists William Harding School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; PD - Physical Disability. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have William Harding School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 59% in 2022/23 and 67% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does William Harding School rank locally?
- William Harding School ranked 76th of 142 primary schools in Buckinghamshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is William Harding School's absence rate?
- William Harding School's overall absence rate is 6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are William Harding School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, William Harding 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 6 July 2026.