Harlowbury Primary School
Watlington Road, Old Harlow, Harlow, CM17 0DX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- NET ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Leigh Bevan
- Sponsor
- NET Academies Trust
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication
- Constituency
- Harlow
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 184
- URN
- 144664
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01279423444
About this school
Harlowbury Primary School is a primary academy in Harlow. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 184 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 31 | 30 | 26 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 65% | 70% | 65% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 10% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 68% | 77% | 85% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 73% | 69% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 74% | 80% | 69% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 105.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.60 | - | - |
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 Harlowbury 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 | 65% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 70% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 65% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 201 |
| 2023/24 | 197 |
| 2024/25 | 198 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Harlowbury Primary School compares
Harlowbury Primary School ranked 205th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 65% | 6.4% | 14.7% | 184 | — |
| Fawbert and Barnard's Primary School | 52% | 4% | 13.4% | 208 | 0.5 miles |
| Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow | 35% | 5.9% | 28.4% | 192 | 0.5 miles |
| Newhall Primary Academy | 67% | 5.5% | 13.9% | 497 | 0.8 miles |
| Tany's Dell Primary School and Nursery | 83% | 5.1% | 34.6% | 437 | 1.1 miles |
| Church Langley Community Primary School | 73% | 4.3% | 11% | 406 | 1.3 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)
- 14.65%
- English as an additional language
- 25.8%
- Overall absence
- 6.35%
- Persistent absence
- 13.19%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Fawbert and Barnard's Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Old Harlow
-
Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow0.5 miles
Primary · Harlow
-
Newhall Primary Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Harlow
-
Tany's Dell Primary School and Nursery1.1 miles
Primary · Harlow
-
Church Langley Community Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Harlow
Other schools in Harlow
Harlowbury Primary School ranks 17th 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
- 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
- Latton Green Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Harlowbury Primary School teach?
- Harlowbury Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Harlow.
- Who is the headteacher of Harlowbury Primary School?
- The headteacher of Harlowbury Primary School is Mr Leigh Bevan, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Harlowbury Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Harlowbury 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 Harlowbury Primary School?
- Harlowbury Primary School has 184 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Harlowbury Primary School full?
- Harlowbury Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 184 on roll (88%), 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 Harlowbury Primary School a faith school?
- No. Harlowbury Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Harlowbury Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Harlowbury Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Harlowbury Primary School?
- Harlowbury Primary School is part of NET ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Harlowbury Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Harlowbury Primary School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Harlowbury Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 65% in 2022/23 and 65% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Harlowbury Primary School rank locally?
- Harlowbury Primary School ranked 205th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Harlowbury Primary School's absence rate?
- Harlowbury Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Harlowbury Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Harlowbury 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 10 July 2026.