Garden City Academy
Radburn Way, Letchworth Garden City, SG6 2JZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- REACH2 ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Samantha Ruck
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- REAch2 Academy Trust
- Constituency
- North East Hertfordshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 215
- URN
- 138389
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01462621800
About this school
Garden City Academy is a primary academy in Letchworth Garden City. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 215 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 6 June 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 | 33 | 27 | 23 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 48% | 26% | 61% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 0% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 48% | 48% | 78% |
| Expected standard in maths | 61% | 33% | 65% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 48% | 33% | 57% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 99.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 97.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -5.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.90 | - | - |
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 Garden City 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 | Hertfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 48% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 26% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 61% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 203 |
| 2023/24 | 185 |
| 2024/25 | 171 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Garden City Academy compares
Garden City Academy ranked 214th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 61% | 6.9% | 46.2% | 215 | — |
| Pixmore Junior School | 30% | 5.6% | 31.7% | 231 | 0.6 miles |
| Hillshott Infant School and Nursery | — | 6.6% | 26.7% | 202 | 0.6 miles |
| Lordship Farm Primary School | 64% | 3.6% | 7.2% | 447 | 0.8 miles |
| St Mary's Junior Mixed School | 35% | 4.8% | 32.8% | 174 | 0.8 miles |
| St Mary's Infants' School | — | 7.3% | 25.5% | 82 | 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)
- 46.2%
- English as an additional language
- 18.7%
- Overall absence
- 6.86%
- Persistent absence
- 23.68%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Pixmore Junior School0.6 miles
Primary · Letchworth
-
Hillshott Infant School and Nursery0.6 miles
Primary · Letchworth
-
Lordship Farm Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Letchworth Garden City
-
St Mary's Junior Mixed School0.8 miles
Primary · Baldock
-
St Mary's Infants' School0.9 miles
Primary · Baldock
Other schools in Letchworth Garden City
Garden City Academy ranks 7th of the 7 ranked primary schools in Letchworth Garden City.
- Icknield Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Lordship Farm Primary School Primary
- Northfields Infants and Nursery School Primary
- Norton St Nicholas CofE (VA) Primary School Primary
- St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School Primary
- Stonehill School Primary
- The Grange Academy Primary
- Wilbury Junior School Primary
- The Highfield School Secondary
- North Herts Education Support Centre Local authority maintained schools
- Woolgrove School, Special Needs Academy Academies
- St Christopher School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Garden City Academy teach?
- Garden City Academy teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Letchworth Garden City.
- Who is the headteacher of Garden City Academy?
- The headteacher of Garden City Academy is Mrs Samantha Ruck, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Garden City Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Garden City 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 Garden City Academy?
- Garden City Academy has 215 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Garden City Academy full?
- Garden City Academy has capacity for 210 pupils and 215 on roll (102%), 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 Garden City Academy a faith school?
- No. Garden City Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Garden City Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Garden City Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Garden City Academy?
- Garden City Academy is part of REACH2 ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Garden City Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 48% in 2022/23 and 61% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Garden City Academy rank locally?
- Garden City Academy ranked 214th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Garden City Academy's absence rate?
- Garden City Academy's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Garden City Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Garden City 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.