Prae Wood Primary School
King Harry Lane, St Albans, AL3 4HZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jenny Sheppard
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- St Albans
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 459
- Pupils on roll
- 446
- URN
- 117315
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01727751930
About this school
Prae Wood Primary School is a community primary school in St Albans. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 446 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Prae Wood Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 6 November 2024, where inspectors found the school has improved significantly. 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 | 56 | 59 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 79% | 73% | 87% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 16% | 3% | 22% |
| Expected standard in reading | 89% | 90% | 92% |
| Expected standard in maths | 88% | 86% | 90% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 84% | 78% | 88% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 108.0 | 112.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 106.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.40 | - | - |
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 Prae Wood 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 | Hertfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 79% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 73% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 87% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 442 |
| 2023/24 | 453 |
| 2024/25 | 448 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Prae Wood Primary School compares
Prae Wood Primary School ranked 13th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 95% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 87% | 4.5% | 3.7% | 446 | — |
| St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, St Albans | 81% | 4.1% | 9.6% | 201 | 0.5 miles |
| The Abbey Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, St Albans | 87% | 3.9% | 4% | 189 | 0.7 miles |
| St Adrian Roman Catholic Primary School | 80% | 4.2% | 11.3% | 194 | 0.8 miles |
| Killigrew Primary and Nursery School | 78% | 4.3% | 7.9% | 412 | 1.0 miles |
| Mandeville Primary School | 75% | 6.6% | 29.6% | 340 | 1.0 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)
- 3.67%
- English as an additional language
- 22.5%
- Overall absence
- 4.49%
- Persistent absence
- 6.89%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, St Albans0.5 miles
Primary · St Albans
-
The Abbey Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, St Albans0.7 miles
Primary · St Albans
-
St Adrian Roman Catholic Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · St Albans
-
Killigrew Primary and Nursery School1.0 miles
Primary · St Albans
-
Mandeville Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · St Albans
Other schools in St Albans
Prae Wood Primary School ranks 5th 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
- Bernards Heath Junior 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
Common questions
- What ages does Prae Wood Primary School teach?
- Prae Wood Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in St Albans.
- Who is the headteacher of Prae Wood Primary School?
- The headteacher of Prae Wood Primary School is Mrs Jenny Sheppard, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Prae Wood Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Prae Wood 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 many pupils are at Prae Wood Primary School?
- Prae Wood Primary School has 446 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Prae Wood Primary School full?
- Prae Wood Primary School has capacity for 459 pupils and 446 on roll (97%), 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 Prae Wood Primary School a faith school?
- No. Prae Wood Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Prae Wood Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Prae Wood Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Prae Wood Primary 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 87% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Prae Wood Primary School compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- Prae Wood Primary School ranked 13th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 95% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Prae Wood Primary School's absence rate?
- Prae Wood Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Prae Wood Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Prae Wood 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 30 June 2026.