St Catherine's Church of England Primary School
Park Road, Ware, SG12 0AW
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Hazel Leslie
- Diocese
- Diocese of St Albans
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Hertford and Stortford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 450
- Pupils on roll
- 415
- URN
- 117410
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01920462653
About this school
St Catherine's Church of England Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Ware. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 415 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 11 July 2024, 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 | 57 | 56 | 27 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 56% | 59% | 56% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 12% | 13% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 74% | 71% | 74% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 71% | 67% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 77% | 71% | 74% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.60 | - | - |
| 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 St Catherine's Church of England 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 | 56% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 59% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 56% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 393 |
| 2023/24 | 394 |
| 2024/25 | 387 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Catherine's Church of England Primary School compares
St Catherine's Church of England Primary School ranked 244th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% 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 | 56% | 4.5% | 13.4% | 415 | — |
| Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School | 68% | 4.1% | 8.8% | 202 | 0.4 miles |
| Kingshill Infant School | — | 4.3% | 5.8% | 206 | 0.6 miles |
| St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Junior School | 65% | 3.7% | 14% | 231 | 0.7 miles |
| Christ Church CofE (VA) Primary School and Nursery | 54% | 5.9% | 18.4% | 332 | 0.7 miles |
| Larkspur Academy | 82% | 8.9% | 59% | 64 | 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)
- 13.35%
- English as an additional language
- 7.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.48%
- Persistent absence
- 9.71%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Ware
-
Kingshill Infant School0.6 miles
Primary · Ware
- 0.7 miles
-
Christ Church CofE (VA) Primary School and Nursery0.7 miles
Primary · Ware
-
Larkspur Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Ware
Other schools in Ware
St Catherine's Church of England Primary School ranks 9th of the 14 ranked primary schools in Ware.
- Christ Church CofE (VA) Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Hunsdon Junior Mixed and Infant School Primary
- Jenyns First School and Nursery Primary
- Kingshill Infant School Primary
- Larkspur Academy Primary
- Little Hadham Primary School Primary
- Little Munden Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Priors Wood Primary School Primary
- Puller Memorial, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Roger De Clare First CofE School Primary
- Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Andrew's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Catherine's Church of England Primary School teach?
- St Catherine's Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Ware.
- Who is the headteacher of St Catherine's Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Catherine's Church of England Primary School is Mrs Hazel Leslie, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Catherine's Church of England Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Catherine's Church of England 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 St Catherine's Church of England Primary School?
- St Catherine's Church of England Primary School has 415 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Catherine's Church of England Primary School full?
- St Catherine's Church of England Primary School has capacity for 450 pupils and 415 on roll (92%), 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 St Catherine's Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Catherine's Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of St Albans.
- Does St Catherine's Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Catherine's Church of England Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have St Catherine's Church of England Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 56% in 2022/23 and 56% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Catherine's Church of England Primary School rank locally?
- St Catherine's Church of England Primary School ranked 244th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% 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 St Catherine's Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- St Catherine's Church of England 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 St Catherine's Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Catherine's Church of England 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.