Water Lane Primary Academy
Broadley Road, Harlow, CM19 5RD
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- REACH2 ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Miss Amy Rawlinson
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- REAch2 Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Harlow
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 198
- URN
- 141194
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01279417410
About this school
Water Lane Primary Academy is a primary academy in Harlow. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 198 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Water Lane Primary Academy, 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 11 May 2023, 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 | 29 | 26 | 25 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 48% | 27% | 36% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 0% | 4% |
| Expected standard in reading | 66% | 42% | 60% |
| Expected standard in maths | 52% | 35% | 48% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 55% | 46% | 48% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 101.0 | 100.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 98.0 | 97.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -4.90 | - | - |
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 Water Lane Primary 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 | Essex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 48% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 27% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 36% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 194 |
| 2023/24 | 202 |
| 2024/25 | 184 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Water Lane Primary Academy compares
Water Lane Primary Academy ranked 369th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 36% | 6.6% | 32.1% | 198 | — |
| Milwards Primary School and Nursery | 77% | 3.8% | 32.5% | 226 | 0.5 miles |
| Katherines Primary Academy and Nursery | 73% | 4.6% | 31.4% | 234 | 0.6 miles |
| Kingsmoor Academy | 79% | 5% | 30.7% | 280 | 0.7 miles |
| Jerounds Primary Academy | 76% | 3.9% | 29.3% | 390 | 0.7 miles |
| St Luke's Catholic Academy | 53% | 3.7% | 15.6% | 231 | 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)
- 32.07%
- English as an additional language
- 28.8%
- Overall absence
- 6.63%
- Persistent absence
- 26.59%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Milwards Primary School and Nursery0.5 miles
Primary · Harlow
-
Katherines Primary Academy and Nursery0.6 miles
Primary · Harlow
-
Kingsmoor Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Harlow
-
Jerounds Primary Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Harlow
-
St Luke's Catholic Academy1.0 miles
Primary · Harlow
Other schools in Harlow
Water Lane Primary Academy ranks 29th 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 ages does Water Lane Primary Academy teach?
- Water Lane Primary Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Harlow.
- Who is the headteacher of Water Lane Primary Academy?
- The headteacher of Water Lane Primary Academy is Miss Amy Rawlinson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Water Lane Primary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Water Lane Primary 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 many pupils are at Water Lane Primary Academy?
- Water Lane Primary Academy has 198 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Water Lane Primary Academy full?
- Water Lane Primary Academy has capacity for 210 pupils and 198 on roll (94%), 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 Water Lane Primary Academy a faith school?
- No. Water Lane Primary Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Water Lane Primary Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Water Lane Primary Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Is Water Lane Primary Academy part of an academy trust?
- Water Lane Primary 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 Water Lane Primary 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 36% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Water Lane Primary Academy compare with other schools in Essex?
- Water Lane Primary Academy ranked 369th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Water Lane Primary Academy's absence rate?
- Water Lane Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 6.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Water Lane Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Water Lane Primary 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.