Applecroft School
Applecroft Road, Welwyn Garden City, AL8 6JZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- APPLECROFT SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lisa Withe
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Applecroft Primary School
- Constituency
- Welwyn Hatfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 450
- Pupils on roll
- 454
- URN
- 137943
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01707323758
About this school
Applecroft School is a primary academy in Welwyn Garden City. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 454 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
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
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- 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 | 60 | 60 | 59 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 60% | 75% | 78% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 12% | 23% | 20% |
| Expected standard in reading | 67% | 90% | 86% |
| Expected standard in maths | 68% | 82% | 81% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 65% | 88% | 81% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 110.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 108.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.90 | - | - |
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 Applecroft 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 | 60% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 75% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 78% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 454 |
| 2023/24 | 452 |
| 2024/25 | 452 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Applecroft School compares
Applecroft School ranked 61st of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 93% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 78% | 3.5% | 11.4% | 454 | — |
| St John's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School, Lemsford | 62% | 6% | 7.8% | 102 | 0.6 miles |
| Peartree Primary School | 75% | 5.8% | 36.9% | 184 | 0.8 miles |
| Our Lady Catholic Primary School | 70% | 5.2% | 19.5% | 204 | 0.9 miles |
| Templewood Primary School | 60% | 5.2% | 9% | 225 | 0.9 miles |
| Creswick Academy | 40% | 4.5% | 27.5% | 325 | 1.0 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)
- 11.4%
- English as an additional language
- 15.7%
- Overall absence
- 3.52%
- Persistent absence
- 5.65%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St John's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School, Lemsford0.6 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Peartree Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Our Lady Catholic Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Templewood Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Creswick Academy1.0 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
Other schools in Welwyn Garden City
Applecroft School ranks 3rd of the 15 ranked primary schools in Welwyn Garden City.
- Commonswood Primary & Nursery School Primary
- Creswick Academy Primary
- Harwood Hill Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Holwell Primary School Primary
- Homerswood Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Our Lady Catholic Primary School Primary
- Panshanger Primary School Primary
- Peartree Primary School Primary
- Springmead Primary School Primary
- St John's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School, Lemsford Primary
- Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Templewood Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Applecroft School teach?
- Applecroft School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Welwyn Garden City.
- Who is the headteacher of Applecroft School?
- The headteacher of Applecroft School is Mrs Lisa Withe, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Applecroft School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Applecroft 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 Applecroft School?
- Applecroft School has 454 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Applecroft School full?
- Applecroft School has capacity for 450 pupils and 454 on roll (101%), 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 Applecroft School a faith school?
- No. Applecroft School has no designated religious character.
- Is Applecroft School a selective school?
- No. Applecroft School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does Applecroft School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Applecroft School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Applecroft School?
- Applecroft School is part of APPLECROFT SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Applecroft School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 60% in 2022/23 and 78% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Applecroft School rank locally?
- Applecroft School ranked 61st of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 93% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Applecroft School's absence rate?
- Applecroft School's overall absence rate is 3.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Applecroft School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Applecroft 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 1 July 2026.