Purford Green Primary School
Purford Green, Harlow, CM18 6HP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE PASSMORES CO-OPERATIVE LEARNING COMMUNITY
- Headteacher
- Ms Rachel Thomson
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- The Passmores Co-operative Learning Community
- Constituency
- Harlow
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 234
- Pupils on roll
- 229
- URN
- 139950
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01279425100
About this school
Purford Green Primary School is a primary academy in Harlow. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 229 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 27 November 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 | 28 | 30 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 64% | 77% | 72% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 10% | 17% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | 83% | 86% |
| Expected standard in maths | 75% | 83% | 79% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 75% | 73% | 90% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.70 | - | - |
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 Purford Green 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 | Essex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 64% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 77% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 72% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 204 |
| 2023/24 | 228 |
| 2024/25 | 227 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Purford Green Primary School compares
Purford Green Primary School ranked 123rd of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 72% | 4.5% | 32.7% | 229 | — |
| Holy Cross Catholic Primary School, Harlow | 67% | 4.4% | 18.8% | 412 | 0.3 miles |
| William Martin Church of England Infant and Nursery School | — | 6.1% | 26.4% | 185 | 0.4 miles |
| Pear Tree Mead Academy | 62% | 5.1% | 28.6% | 460 | 0.5 miles |
| Potter Street Academy | 71% | 4.2% | 35.4% | 202 | 0.5 miles |
| William Martin Church of England Junior School | 60% | 5.6% | 35.5% | 234 | 0.6 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)
- 32.68%
- English as an additional language
- 19.4%
- Overall absence
- 4.46%
- Persistent absence
- 10.99%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Holy Cross Catholic Primary School, Harlow0.3 miles
Primary · Harlow
-
William Martin Church of England Infant and Nursery School0.4 miles
Primary · Harlow
-
Pear Tree Mead Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Harlow
-
Potter Street Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Harlow
-
William Martin Church of England Junior School0.6 miles
Primary · Harlow
Other schools in Harlow
Purford Green Primary School ranks 12th 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 Purford Green Primary School teach?
- Purford Green Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Harlow.
- Who is the headteacher of Purford Green Primary School?
- The headteacher of Purford Green Primary School is Ms Rachel Thomson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Purford Green Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Purford Green 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 big is Purford Green Primary School?
- Purford Green Primary School has 229 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Purford Green Primary School full?
- Purford Green Primary School has capacity for 234 pupils and 229 on roll (98%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Purford Green Primary School a faith school?
- No. Purford Green Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Purford Green Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Purford Green Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Purford Green Primary School?
- Purford Green Primary School is part of THE PASSMORES CO-OPERATIVE LEARNING COMMUNITY. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Purford Green Primary School'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 72% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Purford Green Primary School rank locally?
- Purford Green Primary School ranked 123rd of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Purford Green Primary School's absence rate?
- Purford Green Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Purford Green Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Purford Green 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.