Our Lady Catholic Primary School
Old Hale Way, Hitchin, SG5 1XT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE DIOCESE OF WESTMINSTER ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Snowball
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Westminster
- Constituency
- Hitchin
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 226
- Pupils on roll
- 173
- URN
- 138322
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01462622555
About this school
Our Lady Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Hitchin. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 173 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Our Lady Catholic Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
- 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 | 31 | 32 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 61% | 63% | 57% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 26% | 13% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 71% | 84% | 90% |
| Expected standard in maths | 71% | 69% | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 74% | 81% | 87% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 107.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.80 | - | - |
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 Our Lady 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 | 61% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 63% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 57% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 160 |
| 2023/24 | 154 |
| 2024/25 | 166 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Our Lady Catholic Primary School compares
Our Lady Catholic Primary School ranked 239th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire 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 56% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 57% | 5.2% | 19.3% | 173 | — |
| Strathmore Infant and Nursery School | — | 4% | 3.4% | 198 | 0.2 miles |
| Ickleford Primary School | 67% | 3.1% | 13.9% | 213 | 0.5 miles |
| Wilshere-Dacre Junior Academy | 70% | 4.7% | 15.2% | 234 | 0.7 miles |
| Oughton Primary and Nursery School | 48% | 5.1% | 47.5% | 195 | 0.8 miles |
| Samuel Lucas Junior Mixed and Infant School | 75% | 4.3% | 5.7% | 416 | 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)
- 19.28%
- English as an additional language
- 34.3%
- Overall absence
- 5.19%
- Persistent absence
- 9.26%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Strathmore Infant and Nursery School0.2 miles
Primary · Hitchin
-
Ickleford Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Hitchin
-
Wilshere-Dacre Junior Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Hitchin
-
Oughton Primary and Nursery School0.8 miles
Primary · Hitchin
-
Samuel Lucas Junior Mixed and Infant School1.0 miles
Primary · Hitchin
Other schools in Hitchin
Our Lady Catholic Primary School ranks 14th of the 22 ranked primary schools in Hitchin.
- Breachwood Green Junior Mixed and Infant School Primary
- Codicote Church of England Primary School Primary
- Graveley Primary School Primary
- Highbury Infant School and Nursery Primary
- Highover Junior Mixed and Infant School Primary
- Ickleford Primary School Primary
- Kimpton Primary School Primary
- Mary Exton Primary School Primary
- Offley Endowed Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Oughton Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Pirton School Primary
- Preston Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Our Lady Catholic Primary School teach?
- Our Lady Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Hitchin.
- Who is the headteacher of Our Lady Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of Our Lady Catholic Primary School is Mrs Sarah Snowball, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Our Lady Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Our Lady 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 many pupils are at Our Lady Catholic Primary School?
- Our Lady Catholic Primary School has 173 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is Our Lady Catholic Primary School full?
- Our Lady Catholic Primary School has capacity for 226 pupils and 173 on roll (77%), 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 Our Lady Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Our Lady Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Westminster.
- Does Our Lady Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Our Lady Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Our Lady Catholic Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Our Lady Catholic Primary School is part of THE DIOCESE OF WESTMINSTER ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Our Lady Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 61% 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 Our Lady Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- Our Lady Catholic Primary School ranked 239th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire 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 56% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Our Lady Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- Our Lady Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Our Lady Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Our Lady 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 1 July 2026.