Icknield Walk First School
Poplar Drive, Royston, SG8 7EZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 9
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jane Sherwood
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- North East Hertfordshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 360
- Pupils on roll
- 335
- URN
- 117278
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01763243392
About this school
Icknield Walk First School is a community primary school in Royston. It teaches children aged 3 to 9 and has 335 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Trends over time
How Icknield Walk First 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 344 |
| 2023/24 | 337 |
| 2024/25 | 345 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Icknield Walk First School compares
Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 4.2% | 10.1% | 335 | — |
| St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School | 69% | 4.6% | 7.7% | 227 | 0.3 miles |
| Studlands Rise First School | — | 4.4% | 9.8% | 170 | 0.4 miles |
| Tannery Drift School | — | 3.4% | 9.7% | 320 | 0.7 miles |
| Roman Way Academy | — | 5.9% | 24% | 219 | 0.8 miles |
| Melbourn Primary School | 62% | 3.9% | 22.1% | 357 | 2.5 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)
- 10.14%
- English as an additional language
- 7.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.21%
- Persistent absence
- 8.1%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Royston
-
Studlands Rise First School0.4 miles
Primary · Royston
-
Tannery Drift School0.7 miles
Primary · Royston
-
Roman Way Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Royston
-
Melbourn Primary School2.5 miles
Primary · Royston
Other schools in Royston
- Barley (VA) Church of England First School Primary
- Bassingbourn Primary School Primary
- Chrishall Holy Trinity and St Nicholas CofE (Aided) Primary School and Pre-School Primary
- Fowlmere Primary School Primary
- Melbourn Primary School Primary
- Petersfield CofE Aided Primary School Primary
- Reed First School Primary
- Roman Way Academy Primary
- St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School Primary
- Steeple Morden CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Studlands Rise First School Primary
- Tannery Drift School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Icknield Walk First School teach?
- Icknield Walk First School teaches children aged 3 to 9. It is a primary school in Royston.
- Who is the headteacher of Icknield Walk First School?
- The headteacher of Icknield Walk First School is Mrs Jane Sherwood, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Icknield Walk First School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Icknield Walk First 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 Icknield Walk First School?
- Icknield Walk First School has 335 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 9.
- Is Icknield Walk First School full?
- Icknield Walk First School has capacity for 360 pupils and 335 on roll (93%), 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 Icknield Walk First School a faith school?
- No. Icknield Walk First School has no designated religious character.
- Does Icknield Walk First School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Icknield Walk First School as having nursery classes.
- What is Icknield Walk First School's absence rate?
- Icknield Walk First School's overall absence rate is 4.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- Does Icknield Walk First School publish exam results?
- OfferDay shows exam results for a school only where the Department for Education has published them, and none are shown for Icknield Walk First School. That is usual for infant, nursery, special and independent schools, and for schools without recent published results.
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.