Waterside Academy
Rowans, Welwyn Garden City, AL7 1NZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- AGORA LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Mr Kevin Peart
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Agora Learning Partnership
- Constituency
- Welwyn Hatfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 166
- URN
- 145257
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01707321203
About this school
Waterside Academy is a primary academy in Welwyn Garden City. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 166 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Waterside 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 17 | 23 | 28 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 71% | 70% | 64% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 12% | 9% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 82% | 70% | 75% |
| Expected standard in maths | 88% | 74% | 64% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 82% | 74% | 68% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 103.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 103.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | +5.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.20 | - | - |
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 Waterside 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 | Hertfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 71% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 70% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 64% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 178 |
| 2023/24 | 192 |
| 2024/25 | 177 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Waterside Academy compares
Waterside Academy ranked 184th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 64% | 5.7% | 48.5% | 166 | — |
| The Holy Family Catholic Primary School | — | — | — | 211 | 0.0 miles |
| St John's CofE Primary School | 73% | 4.3% | 11.3% | 224 | 0.5 miles |
| Panshanger Primary School | 80% | 4% | 10% | 240 | 0.7 miles |
| Harwood Hill Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery School | 55% | 5.9% | 29% | 179 | 0.8 miles |
| Springmead Primary School | 52% | 4% | 24% | 248 | 0.8 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report24 February 2026
- 15 June 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 48.45%
- English as an additional language
- 25.4%
- Overall absence
- 5.71%
- Persistent absence
- 17.68%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Holy Family Catholic Primary School0.0 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
-
St John's CofE Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Welwyn
-
Panshanger Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Harwood Hill Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery School0.8 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Springmead Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
Other schools in Welwyn Garden City
Waterside Academy ranks 9th of the 15 ranked primary schools in Welwyn Garden City.
- Applecroft School Primary
- Commonswood Primary & Nursery School Primary
- Creswick Academy Primary
- Harwood Hill Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Holwell Primary School Primary
- Homerswood Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Our Lady Catholic Primary School Primary
- Panshanger Primary School Primary
- Peartree Primary School Primary
- Springmead Primary School Primary
- St John's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School, Lemsford Primary
- Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Waterside Academy teach?
- Waterside Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Welwyn Garden City.
- Who is the headteacher of Waterside Academy?
- The headteacher of Waterside Academy is Mr Kevin Peart, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Waterside Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Waterside 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 Waterside Academy?
- Waterside Academy has 166 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Waterside Academy full?
- Waterside Academy has capacity for 210 pupils and 166 on roll (79%), 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 Waterside Academy a faith school?
- No. Waterside Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Waterside Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Waterside Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is Waterside Academy part of an academy trust?
- Waterside Academy is part of AGORA LEARNING PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Waterside Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 71% in 2022/23 and 64% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Waterside Academy compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- Waterside Academy ranked 184th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Waterside Academy's absence rate?
- Waterside Academy's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Waterside Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Waterside 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 10 July 2026.