St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School
Woods Avenue, Hatfield, AL10 8NN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Mairead Waugh
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Westminster
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Welwyn Hatfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 469
- Pupils on roll
- 438
- URN
- 117469
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01707263969
About this school
St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Hatfield. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 438 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 5 June 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 | 59 | 61 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 47% | 61% | 42% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 3% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 68% | 69% | 80% |
| Expected standard in maths | 73% | 79% | 67% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 76% | 74% | 77% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.70 | - | - |
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 St Philip Howard Catholic 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 | 47% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 61% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 42% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 481 |
| 2023/24 | 471 |
| 2024/25 | 462 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School compares
St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School ranked 299th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 13% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42% | 3.7% | 25.1% | 438 | — |
| Oak View Primary and Nursery School | 70% | 5.2% | 27.1% | 395 | 0.1 miles |
| Hatfield Community Free School | 57% | 4.8% | 23% | 406 | 0.2 miles |
| Countess Anne Church of England School | 64% | 3.4% | 16.4% | 209 | 0.6 miles |
| De Havilland Primary School | 61% | 6.8% | 36.7% | 425 | 0.6 miles |
| Birchwood Avenue Primary School | 38% | 6% | 34.2% | 202 | 0.8 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)
- 25.06%
- English as an additional language
- 58.2%
- Overall absence
- 3.74%
- Persistent absence
- 6.18%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Oak View Primary and Nursery School0.1 miles
Primary · Hatfield
-
Hatfield Community Free School0.2 miles
Primary · Hatfield
-
Countess Anne Church of England School0.6 miles
Primary · Hatfield
-
De Havilland Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Hatfield
-
Birchwood Avenue Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Hatfield
Other schools in Hatfield
St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School ranks 10th of the 11 ranked primary schools in Hatfield.
- Birchwood Avenue Primary School Primary
- Brookmans Park Primary School Primary
- Countess Anne Church of England School Primary
- De Havilland Primary School Primary
- Green Lanes Primary School Primary
- Hatfield Community Free School Primary
- Howe Dell Primary School Primary
- Oak View Primary and Nursery School Primary
- St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green Primary
- The Ryde School Primary
- Birchwood Nursery School Nursery
- Bishop's Hatfield Girls' School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Hatfield.
- Who is the headteacher of St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School is Mrs Mairead Waugh, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Philip Howard Catholic 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 Philip Howard Catholic Primary School?
- St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School has 438 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School full?
- St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School has capacity for 469 pupils and 438 on roll (93%), 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 Philip Howard Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Westminster.
- Does St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 47% in 2022/23 and 42% 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 Philip Howard Catholic Primary School rank locally?
- St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School ranked 299th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 13% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% 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 Philip Howard Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Philip Howard Catholic 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.