High Beeches Primary School
Aldwickbury Crescent, Harpenden, AL5 5SD
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Jonathan Walker
- Constituency
- Harpenden and Berkhamsted
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 420
- URN
- 117342
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01582767966
About this school
High Beeches Primary School is a community primary school in Harpenden. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 420 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected High Beeches 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 8 June 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding. 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 | 62 | 60 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 77% | 75% | 80% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 19% | 17% | 15% |
| Expected standard in reading | 94% | 100% | 98% |
| Expected standard in maths | 97% | 95% | 95% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 92% | 97% | 95% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 110.0 | 112.0 | 113.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 110.0 | 111.0 | 112.0 |
| Reading progress | +4.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.80 | - | - |
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 High Beeches 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 | 77% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 75% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 80% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 415 |
| 2023/24 | 417 |
| 2024/25 | 418 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How High Beeches Primary School compares
High Beeches Primary School ranked 47th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 87% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 80% | 3.1% | 4.6% | 420 | — |
| Crabtree Infants' School | — | 2.8% | 2.2% | 178 | 0.2 miles |
| Crabtree Junior School | 86% | 3.7% | 0.8% | 256 | 0.2 miles |
| The Grove Junior School | 82% | 2.9% | 9% | 350 | 0.4 miles |
| The Grove Infant and Nursery School | — | 3.6% | 3.1% | 243 | 0.4 miles |
| St Dominic Catholic Primary School | — | — | — | 232 | 0.6 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)
- 4.55%
- English as an additional language
- 10.8%
- Overall absence
- 3.11%
- Persistent absence
- 3.58%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Crabtree Infants' School0.2 miles
Primary · Harpenden
-
Crabtree Junior School0.2 miles
Primary · Harpenden
-
The Grove Junior School0.4 miles
Primary · Harpenden
-
The Grove Infant and Nursery School0.4 miles
Primary · Harpenden
-
St Dominic Catholic Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Harpenden
Other schools in Harpenden
High Beeches Primary School ranks 7th of the 10 ranked primary schools in Harpenden.
- Crabtree Infants' School Primary
- Crabtree Junior School Primary
- Harpenden Academy Primary
- Manland Primary School Primary
- Roundwood Primary School Primary
- Sauncey Wood Primary School Primary
- St Dominic Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Nicholas CofE VA Primary School Primary
- The Grove Infant and Nursery School Primary
- The Grove Junior School Primary
- The Lea Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Wood End School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does High Beeches Primary School teach?
- High Beeches Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Harpenden.
- Who is the headteacher of High Beeches Primary School?
- The headteacher of High Beeches Primary School is Mr Jonathan Walker, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has High Beeches Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected High Beeches 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 High Beeches Primary School?
- High Beeches Primary School has 420 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is High Beeches Primary School full?
- High Beeches Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 420 on roll (100%), so it is at or above 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 High Beeches Primary School a faith school?
- No. High Beeches Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does High Beeches Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records High Beeches Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have High Beeches Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 77% in 2022/23 and 80% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does High Beeches Primary School compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- High Beeches Primary School ranked 47th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 87% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is High Beeches Primary School's absence rate?
- High Beeches Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are High Beeches Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, High Beeches 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.