Samuel Lucas Primary School
Gaping Lane, Hitchin, SG5 2JQ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Miss Helen Brind
- Constituency
- Hitchin
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 416
- URN
- 117337
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01462456737
About this school
Samuel Lucas Primary School is a community primary school in Hitchin. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 416 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Samuel Lucas 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
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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- 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 | 60 | 60 | 59 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 70% | 70% | 75% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 22% | 15% | 25% |
| Expected standard in reading | 83% | 85% | 90% |
| Expected standard in maths | 83% | 77% | 80% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 83% | 77% | 92% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 107.0 | 110.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.70 | - | - |
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 Samuel Lucas 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 | 70% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 70% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 75% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 421 |
| 2023/24 | 420 |
| 2024/25 | 419 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Samuel Lucas Primary School compares
Samuel Lucas Primary School ranked 83rd of 336 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 78% 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 | 75% | 4.3% | 5.7% | 416 | — |
| Wilshere-Dacre Junior Academy | 70% | 4.7% | 15.2% | 234 | 0.3 miles |
| Oughton Primary and Nursery School | 48% | 5.1% | 47.5% | 195 | 0.4 miles |
| Highbury Infant School and Nursery | — | 3.9% | 8.4% | 195 | 0.7 miles |
| Strathmore Infant and Nursery School | — | 4% | 3.4% | 198 | 0.8 miles |
| St Andrew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Hitchin | 68% | 3.7% | 8.5% | 234 | 0.9 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)
- 5.73%
- English as an additional language
- 10.7%
- Overall absence
- 4.3%
- Persistent absence
- 7.08%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Wilshere-Dacre Junior Academy0.3 miles
Primary · Hitchin
-
Oughton Primary and Nursery School0.4 miles
Primary · Hitchin
-
Highbury Infant School and Nursery0.7 miles
Primary · Hitchin
-
Strathmore Infant and Nursery School0.8 miles
Primary · Hitchin
-
St Andrew's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Hitchin0.9 miles
Primary · Hitchin
Other schools in Hitchin
Samuel Lucas Primary School ranks 3rd of the 22 ranked primary schools in Hitchin.
- Breachwood Green Junior Mixed and Infant School Primary
- Codicote Church of England Primary School Primary
- Graveley Primary School Primary
- Highbury Infant School and Nursery Primary
- Highover Primary School Primary
- Ickleford Primary School Primary
- Kimpton Primary School Primary
- Mary Exton Primary School Primary
- Offley Endowed Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Oughton Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Our Lady Catholic Primary School Primary
- Pirton School Primary
Recorded changes at this school
- School name changed from Samuel Lucas Junior Mixed and Infant School to Samuel Lucas Primary School recorded 1 Sep 2026
Common questions
- What ages does Samuel Lucas Primary School teach?
- Samuel Lucas Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Hitchin.
- Who is the headteacher of Samuel Lucas Primary School?
- The headteacher of Samuel Lucas Primary School is Miss Helen Brind, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Samuel Lucas Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Samuel Lucas 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 Samuel Lucas Primary School?
- Samuel Lucas Primary School has 416 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Samuel Lucas Primary School full?
- Samuel Lucas Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 416 on roll (99%), 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 Samuel Lucas Primary School a faith school?
- No. Samuel Lucas Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Samuel Lucas Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Samuel Lucas Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Samuel Lucas Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 70% in 2022/23 and 75% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Samuel Lucas Primary School compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- Samuel Lucas Primary School ranked 83rd of 336 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 78% 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 Samuel Lucas Primary School's absence rate?
- Samuel Lucas Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Samuel Lucas Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Samuel Lucas 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 1 September 2026.