Crabtree Junior School
Crabtree Lane, Harpenden, AL5 5PU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- IVY LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Miss Emma Simmons
- Sponsor
- Ivy Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Harpenden and Berkhamsted
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 256
- Pupils on roll
- 256
- URN
- 140708
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01582623501
About this school
Crabtree Junior School is a primary academy in Harpenden. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 256 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- 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 | 65 | 65 | 65 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 75% | 85% | 86% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 12% | 20% | 25% |
| Expected standard in reading | 89% | 92% | 94% |
| Expected standard in maths | 83% | 89% | 88% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 82% | 94% | 89% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 110.0 | 110.0 | 110.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 108.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.80 | - | - |
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 Crabtree Junior 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 | 75% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 85% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 86% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 255 |
| 2023/24 | 257 |
| 2024/25 | 256 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Crabtree Junior School compares
Crabtree Junior School ranked 18th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 95% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 86% | 3.7% | 0.8% | 256 | — |
| Crabtree Infants' School | — | 2.8% | 2.2% | 178 | 0.0 miles |
| High Beeches Primary School | 80% | 3.1% | 4.6% | 420 | 0.2 miles |
| St Dominic Catholic Primary School | — | — | — | 232 | 0.5 miles |
| The Grove Junior School | 82% | 2.9% | 9% | 350 | 0.5 miles |
| Harpenden Academy | 81% | 3.9% | 6.5% | 216 | 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)
- 0.78%
- English as an additional language
- 14.5%
- Overall absence
- 3.74%
- Persistent absence
- 4.23%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Crabtree Infants' School0.0 miles
Primary · Harpenden
-
High Beeches Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Harpenden
-
St Dominic Catholic Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Harpenden
-
The Grove Junior School0.5 miles
Primary · Harpenden
-
Harpenden Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Harpenden
Other schools in Harpenden
Crabtree Junior School ranks 3rd of the 10 ranked primary schools in Harpenden.
- Crabtree Infants' School Primary
- Harpenden Academy Primary
- High Beeches Primary School Primary
- Manland Primary School Primary
- Roundwood Primary School Primary
- Sauncey Wood Primary School Primary
- St Dominic Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Nicholas CofE VA Primary School Primary
- The Grove Infant and Nursery School Primary
- The Grove Junior School Primary
- The Lea Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Wood End School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Crabtree Junior School teach?
- Crabtree Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Harpenden.
- Who is the headteacher of Crabtree Junior School?
- The headteacher of Crabtree Junior School is Miss Emma Simmons, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Crabtree Junior School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Crabtree Junior 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 Crabtree Junior School?
- Crabtree Junior School has 256 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is Crabtree Junior School full?
- Crabtree Junior School has capacity for 256 pupils and 256 on roll (100%), 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 Crabtree Junior School a faith school?
- No. Crabtree Junior School has no designated religious character.
- Does Crabtree Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Crabtree Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Crabtree Junior School?
- Crabtree Junior School is part of IVY LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Crabtree Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 75% in 2022/23 and 86% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Crabtree Junior School rank locally?
- Crabtree Junior School ranked 18th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 95% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Crabtree Junior School's absence rate?
- Crabtree Junior School's overall absence rate is 3.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Crabtree Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Crabtree Junior 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.