Heron Cross Primary School
Grove Road, Heron Cross, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 4LJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Gemma Willdigg
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Stoke-on-Trent Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 472
- Pupils on roll
- 396
- URN
- 124003
- Local authority
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01782233565
About this school
Heron Cross Primary School is a community primary school in Stoke-on-Trent. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 396 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 49 | 54 | 58 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 55% | 44% | 59% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 2% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 61% | 65% | 69% |
| Expected standard in maths | 80% | 54% | 71% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 65% | 63% | 67% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 101.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.50 | - | - |
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 Heron Cross 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 | Stoke-on-Trent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 55% | 54.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 44% | 56.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 59% | 57.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 379 |
| 2023/24 | 402 |
| 2024/25 | 411 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Heron Cross Primary School compares
Heron Cross Primary School ranked 39th of 64 primary schools in Stoke-on-Trent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 71% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 59% | 4.6% | 46.4% | 396 | — |
| Our Lady's Catholic Academy | 59% | 4.3% | 52.9% | 214 | 0.5 miles |
| Co-op Academy Glebe | 82% | 5.4% | 58.5% | 236 | 0.6 miles |
| Christ Church CofE Primary Academy | 43% | 5.1% | 47% | 207 | 0.7 miles |
| The Meadows Primary Academy | 70% | 5.1% | 43.5% | 379 | 0.8 miles |
| Stoke Minster CofE Primary Academy | 42% | 5.7% | 45.5% | 343 | 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report20 January 2026
- 30 November 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 46.41%
- English as an additional language
- 15.6%
- Overall absence
- 4.55%
- Persistent absence
- 10.12%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Our Lady's Catholic Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Stoke-on-Trent
-
Co-op Academy Glebe0.6 miles
Primary · Stoke-on-Trent
-
Christ Church CofE Primary Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Stoke-on-Trent
-
The Meadows Primary Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Stoke-on-Trent
-
Stoke Minster CofE Primary Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Stoke-on-Trent
Other schools in Stoke-on-Trent
Heron Cross Primary School ranks 66th of the 102 ranked primary schools in Stoke-on-Trent.
- Abbey Hulton Primary School Primary
- Alexandra Infants' School Primary
- Alexandra Junior School Primary
- All Saints' CofE First School Primary
- Alsager Highfields Community Primary School Primary
- Alsagers Bank Primary Academy Primary
- Ash Green Primary Academy Primary
- Ball Green Primary Academy Primary
- Barlaston CofE (VC) First School Primary
- Belgrave St Bartholomew's Academy Primary
- Bishop Rawle CofE Primary School Primary
- Burnwood Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Heron Cross Primary School teach?
- Heron Cross Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Stoke-on-Trent.
- Who is the headteacher of Heron Cross Primary School?
- The headteacher of Heron Cross Primary School is Mrs Gemma Willdigg, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Heron Cross Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Heron Cross 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 Heron Cross Primary School?
- Heron Cross Primary School has 396 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Heron Cross Primary School full?
- Heron Cross Primary School has capacity for 472 pupils and 396 on roll (84%), 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 Heron Cross Primary School a faith school?
- No. Heron Cross Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Is Heron Cross Primary School a selective school?
- No. Heron Cross Primary School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does Heron Cross Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Heron Cross Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Heron Cross Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 55% in 2022/23 and 59% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Heron Cross Primary School rank locally?
- Heron Cross Primary School ranked 39th of 64 primary schools in Stoke-on-Trent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 71% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Heron Cross Primary School's absence rate?
- Heron Cross Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Heron Cross Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Heron Cross 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.