Katherine Semar Junior School
Ross Close, Saffron Walden, CB11 4DU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SAFFRON ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Julie Puxley
- Sponsor
- Saffron Academy Trust
- Constituency
- North West Essex
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 270
- Pupils on roll
- 256
- URN
- 141572
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01799521120
About this school
Katherine Semar Junior School is a primary academy in Saffron Walden. 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. 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 | 78 | 63 | 67 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 82% | 79% | 79% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 23% | 21% | 22% |
| Expected standard in reading | 90% | 87% | 88% |
| Expected standard in maths | 88% | 84% | 91% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 91% | 90% | 85% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 107.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 107.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.20 | - | - |
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 Katherine Semar 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 | Essex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 82% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 79% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 79% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 259 |
| 2023/24 | 245 |
| 2024/25 | 249 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Katherine Semar Junior School compares
Katherine Semar Junior School ranked 50th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 98% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 79% | 3.1% | 12.9% | 256 | — |
| Katherine Semar Infant School | — | 3.7% | 10.6% | 180 | 0.0 miles |
| St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, Saffron Walden | 94% | 3.1% | 2.4% | 206 | 0.6 miles |
| R A Butler Infant School | — | 3.3% | 9.2% | 271 | 0.7 miles |
| R A Butler Junior School | 82% | 3.1% | 12% | 384 | 0.7 miles |
| St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | 65% | 4.9% | 18.9% | 224 | 1.2 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)
- 12.85%
- English as an additional language
- 14.5%
- Overall absence
- 3.09%
- Persistent absence
- 3.54%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Katherine Semar Infant School0.0 miles
Primary · Saffron Walden
-
St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, Saffron Walden0.6 miles
Primary · Saffron Walden
-
R A Butler Infant School0.7 miles
Primary · Saffron Walden
-
R A Butler Junior School0.7 miles
Primary · Saffron Walden
-
St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Saffron Walden
Other schools in Saffron Walden
Katherine Semar Junior School ranks 5th of the 11 ranked primary schools in Saffron Walden.
- Ashdon Primary School Primary
- Clavering Primary School Primary
- Debden Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary Academy Primary
- Great Chesterford Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Great Sampford Community Primary School Primary
- Katherine Semar Infant School Primary
- R A Butler Infant School Primary
- R A Butler Junior School Primary
- Radwinter Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Rickling Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, Saffron Walden Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Katherine Semar Junior School teach?
- Katherine Semar Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Saffron Walden.
- Who is the headteacher of Katherine Semar Junior School?
- The headteacher of Katherine Semar Junior School is Mrs Julie Puxley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Katherine Semar Junior School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Katherine Semar 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 Katherine Semar Junior School?
- Katherine Semar Junior School has 256 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is Katherine Semar Junior School full?
- Katherine Semar Junior School has capacity for 270 pupils and 256 on roll (95%), 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 Katherine Semar Junior School a faith school?
- No. Katherine Semar Junior School has no designated religious character.
- Does Katherine Semar Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Katherine Semar Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Katherine Semar Junior School?
- Katherine Semar Junior School is part of SAFFRON ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Katherine Semar Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 82% in 2022/23 and 79% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Katherine Semar Junior School rank locally?
- Katherine Semar Junior School ranked 50th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 98% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Katherine Semar Junior School's absence rate?
- Katherine Semar Junior School's overall absence rate is 3.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Katherine Semar Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Katherine Semar 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.