Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School
School Lane, Essendon, AL9 6HD
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lesley Brennan
- Diocese
- Diocese of St Albans
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Welwyn Hatfield
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 115
- Pupils on roll
- 77
- URN
- 117393
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01707261209
About this school
Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Essendon. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 77 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. 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 20 July 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 | 13 | 13 | 12 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 38% | 38% | 17% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 69% | 46% | 83% |
| Expected standard in maths | 54% | 69% | 33% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 54% | 54% | 58% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 101.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 102.0 | 98.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -5.10 | - | - |
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 Essendon CofE (VC) 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 | 38% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 38% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 17% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 93 |
| 2023/24 | 86 |
| 2024/25 | 80 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School compares
Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School ranked 338th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 5% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 17% | 6.1% | 25.7% | 77 | — |
| Bayford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 23% | 7.2% | 11.8% | 87 | 1.9 miles |
| Commonswood Primary & Nursery School | 65% | 3.6% | 12.5% | 410 | 2.0 miles |
| Hertingfordbury Cowper Primary School | 76% | 4.1% | 2.9% | 229 | 2.1 miles |
| Ponsbourne St Mary's Church of England Primary School | 83% | 6.6% | 6.9% | 110 | 2.7 miles |
| Watchlytes Primary School | 76% | 6% | 31.5% | 158 | 2.7 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)
- 25.68%
- English as an additional language
- 8.8%
- Overall absence
- 6.09%
- Persistent absence
- 12.68%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bayford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School1.9 miles
Primary · Hertford
-
Commonswood Primary & Nursery School2.0 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Hertingfordbury Cowper Primary School2.1 miles
Primary · Hertford
-
Ponsbourne St Mary's Church of England Primary School2.7 miles
Primary · Hertford
-
Watchlytes Primary School2.7 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
Common questions
- What year groups does Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School teach?
- Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Essendon.
- Who is the headteacher of Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School?
- The headteacher of Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School is Mrs Lesley Brennan, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Essendon CofE (VC) 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 big is Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School?
- Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School has 77 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School full?
- Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School has capacity for 115 pupils and 77 on roll (67%), 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 Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of St Albans.
- Does Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 38% in 2022/23 and 17% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School rank locally?
- Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School ranked 338th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 5% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School's absence rate?
- Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Essendon CofE (VC) Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Essendon CofE (VC) 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 July 2026.