Bernards Heath Junior School
Watson Avenue, St Albans, AL3 5HP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Hayley Gilbert
- Constituency
- St Albans
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 360
- Pupils on roll
- 353
- URN
- 117143
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01727856262
About this school
Bernards Heath Junior School is a community primary school in St Albans. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 353 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
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
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- 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 | 87 | 89 | 90 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 79% | 85% | 78% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Expected standard in reading | 85% | 91% | 83% |
| Expected standard in maths | 86% | 94% | 84% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 87% | 90% | 81% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 111.0 | 111.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 110.0 | 110.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.00 | - | - |
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 Bernards Heath Junior 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 | Hertfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 79% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 85% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 78% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 354 |
| 2023/24 | 356 |
| 2024/25 | 352 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bernards Heath Junior School compares
Bernards Heath Junior School ranked 64th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire 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 71% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 78% | 4.6% | 8.8% | 353 | — |
| Bernards Heath Infant and Nursery School | — | 4.9% | 6.7% | 279 | 0.2 miles |
| Garden Fields Junior Mixed and Infant School | 69% | 4.8% | 14.2% | 430 | 0.4 miles |
| Maple Primary School | 93% | 4% | 5.6% | 214 | 0.6 miles |
| Margaret Wix Primary School | 61% | 5.3% | 34.5% | 167 | 0.7 miles |
| Alban City School | 77% | 3.6% | 10.2% | 381 | 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)
- 8.81%
- English as an additional language
- 15.9%
- Overall absence
- 4.57%
- Persistent absence
- 7.18%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bernards Heath Infant and Nursery School0.2 miles
Primary · St Albans
-
Garden Fields Junior Mixed and Infant School0.4 miles
Primary · St Albans
-
Maple Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · St Albans
-
Margaret Wix Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · St Albans
-
Alban City School0.7 miles
Primary · St Albans
Other schools in St Albans
Bernards Heath Junior School ranks 14th of the 31 ranked primary schools in St Albans.
- Aboyne Lodge Junior Mixed and Infant School Primary
- Alban City School Primary
- Bernards Heath Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Bowmansgreen Primary School Primary
- Camp Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Colney Heath Primary School Primary
- Cunningham Hill Infant School Primary
- Cunningham Hill Junior School Primary
- Fleetville Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Fleetville Junior School Primary
- Garden Fields Junior Mixed and Infant School Primary
- How Wood Primary and Nursery School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Bernards Heath Junior School teach?
- Bernards Heath Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in St Albans.
- Who is the headteacher of Bernards Heath Junior School?
- The headteacher of Bernards Heath Junior School is Mrs Hayley Gilbert, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bernards Heath Junior School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bernards Heath Junior 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 Bernards Heath Junior School?
- Bernards Heath Junior School has 353 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is Bernards Heath Junior School full?
- Bernards Heath Junior School has capacity for 360 pupils and 353 on roll (98%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Bernards Heath Junior School a faith school?
- No. Bernards Heath Junior School has no designated religious character.
- Does Bernards Heath Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Bernards Heath Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Bernards Heath Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 79% 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 Bernards Heath Junior School rank locally?
- Bernards Heath Junior School ranked 64th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire 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 71% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bernards Heath Junior School's absence rate?
- Bernards Heath Junior School's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bernards Heath Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bernards Heath Junior 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 30 June 2026.