St Alban's Catholic Academy
First Avenue, Harlow, CM20 2NP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- OUR LADY OF FATIMA CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Executive Headteacher
- Mr Ian Kendal
- Diocese
- Diocese of Brentwood
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Our Lady of Fatima Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Harlow
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 227
- URN
- 137056
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01279425383
About this school
St Alban's Catholic Academy is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Harlow. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 227 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 23 October 2024, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 25 | 30 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 64% | 50% | 57% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 3% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 64% | 70% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 80% | 67% | 80% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 76% | 57% | 87% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 102.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.90 | - | - |
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 Alban's Catholic Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Essex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 64% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 50% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 57% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 213 |
| 2023/24 | 221 |
| 2024/25 | 225 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Alban's Catholic Academy compares
St Alban's Catholic Academy ranked 268th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 34% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 57% | 4.7% | 16.8% | 227 | — |
| Freshwaters Primary Academy | 62% | 6.5% | 40.1% | 413 | 0.3 miles |
| Tany's Dell Primary School and Nursery | 83% | 5.1% | 34.6% | 437 | 0.5 miles |
| Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery | 38% | 7.7% | 51.6% | 443 | 0.5 miles |
| The Downs Primary School and Nursery | 52% | 5.8% | 34.9% | 362 | 0.6 miles |
| Pemberley Academy | 67% | 5.8% | 26.4% | 207 | 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)
- 16.75%
- English as an additional language
- 41.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.68%
- Persistent absence
- 11.11%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Freshwaters Primary Academy0.3 miles
Primary · Harlow
-
Tany's Dell Primary School and Nursery0.5 miles
Primary · Harlow
-
Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery0.5 miles
Primary · Harlow
-
The Downs Primary School and Nursery0.6 miles
Primary · Harlow
-
Pemberley Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Harlow
Other schools in Harlow
St Alban's Catholic Academy ranks 24th of the 30 ranked primary schools in Harlow.
- Abbotsweld Primary Academy Primary
- Church Langley Community Primary School Primary
- Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow Primary
- Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery Primary
- Freshwaters Primary Academy Primary
- Hare Street Community Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Harlowbury Primary School Primary
- Henry Moore Primary School Primary
- Holy Cross Catholic Primary School, Harlow Primary
- Jerounds Primary Academy Primary
- Katherines Primary Academy and Nursery Primary
- Kingsmoor Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Alban's Catholic Academy teach?
- St Alban's Catholic Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Harlow.
- Who is the executive headteacher of St Alban's Catholic Academy?
- The executive headteacher of St Alban's Catholic Academy is Mr Ian Kendal, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Alban's Catholic Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Alban's Catholic Academy, 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 Alban's Catholic Academy?
- St Alban's Catholic Academy has 227 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Alban's Catholic Academy full?
- St Alban's Catholic Academy has capacity for 210 pupils and 227 on roll (108%), 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 St Alban's Catholic Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Alban's Catholic Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Brentwood.
- Does St Alban's Catholic Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Alban's Catholic Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs St Alban's Catholic Academy?
- St Alban's Catholic Academy is part of OUR LADY OF FATIMA CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Alban's Catholic Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 64% in 2022/23 and 57% 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 Alban's Catholic Academy rank locally?
- St Alban's Catholic Academy ranked 268th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 34% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% 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 Alban's Catholic Academy's absence rate?
- St Alban's Catholic Academy's overall absence rate is 4.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Alban's Catholic Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Alban's Catholic Academy'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.