King James Academy Royston
Garden Walk, Royston, SG8 7JH
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 9 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE DIAMOND LEARNING PARTNERSHIP TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Zoe Andrews
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Diamond Learning Partnership Trust
- Constituency
- North East Hertfordshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,321
- Pupils on roll
- 947
- URN
- 137656
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01763242236
About this school
King James Academy Royston is an all-through academy in Royston. It teaches children aged 9 to 18 and has 947 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 180 | 174 | 163 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 52% | 56% | 51% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 8% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% | 69% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 63% | 63% | 59% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 66% | 66% | 64% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 101.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.00 | - | - |
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.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 119 | 89 | 93 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.7 | 42.7 | 40.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.31 +0.05 to +0.56 | +0.19 -0.11 to +0.48 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 38% | 44.9% | 34.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 61% | 57.3% | 52.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 8% | 27% | 24.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.5 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How King James Academy Royston 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 | 52% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 56% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 51% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Hertfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44.7 | 44.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 42.7 | 44.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 40.3 | 44.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,004 |
| 2023/24 | 957 |
| 2024/25 | 939 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How King James Academy Royston compares
King James Academy Royston ranked 69th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 40.3 | 7.9% | 21% | 947 | — |
| Icknield Walk First School | — | 4.2% | 10.1% | 335 | 0.2 miles |
| St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School | — | 4.6% | 7.7% | 227 | 0.4 miles |
| Studlands Rise First School | — | 4.4% | 9.8% | 170 | 0.6 miles |
| Roman Way Academy | — | 5.9% | 24% | 219 | 0.7 miles |
| Tannery Drift School | — | 3.4% | 9.7% | 320 | 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)
- 20.98%
- English as an additional language
- 6.5%
- Overall absence
- 7.86%
- Persistent absence
- 20.5%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Icknield Walk First School0.2 miles
Primary · Royston
-
St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Royston
-
Studlands Rise First School0.6 miles
Primary · Royston
-
Roman Way Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Royston
-
Tannery Drift School0.8 miles
Primary · Royston
Other schools in Royston
King James Academy Royston ranks 7th of the 9 ranked primary schools in Royston.
- Barley (VA) Church of England First School Primary
- Bassingbourn Primary School Primary
- Chrishall Holy Trinity and St Nicholas CofE (Aided) Primary School and Pre-School Primary
- Fowlmere Primary School Primary
- Icknield Walk First School Primary
- Melbourn Primary School Primary
- Petersfield CofE Aided Primary School Primary
- Reed First School Primary
- Roman Way Academy Primary
- St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School Primary
- Steeple Morden CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Studlands Rise First School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does King James Academy Royston teach?
- King James Academy Royston teaches children aged 9 to 18. It is an all-through school in Royston.
- Who is the headteacher of King James Academy Royston?
- The headteacher of King James Academy Royston is Mrs Zoe Andrews, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was King James Academy Royston last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected King James Academy Royston, 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 King James Academy Royston?
- King James Academy Royston has 947 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 9 to 18.
- Is King James Academy Royston full?
- King James Academy Royston has capacity for 1,321 pupils and 947 on roll (72%), 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 King James Academy Royston a faith school?
- No. King James Academy Royston has no designated religious character.
- Is King James Academy Royston a selective school?
- No. King James Academy Royston is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs King James Academy Royston?
- King James Academy Royston is part of THE DIAMOND LEARNING PARTNERSHIP TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have King James Academy Royston's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 52% in 2022/23 and 51% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does King James Academy Royston rank locally?
- King James Academy Royston ranked 69th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is King James Academy Royston's absence rate?
- King James Academy Royston's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are King James Academy Royston's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, King James Academy Royston'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.