Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy
Quendon Drive, Waltham Abbey, EN9 1LG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- NET ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Miss Sarah Clarke
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- NET Academies Trust
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Epping Forest
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 630
- Pupils on roll
- 598
- URN
- 147265
- Local authority
- Essex
- Telephone
- 01992713191
About this school
Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy is a primary academy in Waltham Abbey. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 598 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
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- 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 | 77 | 75 | 85 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 56% | 64% | 73% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 8% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 77% | 80% | 84% |
| Expected standard in maths | 66% | 73% | 82% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 74% | 87% | 86% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 105.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.90 | - | - |
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 Waltham Holy Cross 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 | 56% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 64% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 73% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 587 |
| 2023/24 | 617 |
| 2024/25 | 594 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy compares
Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy ranked 116th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 83% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 73% | 4% | 28.8% | 598 | — |
| Leverton Primary School | 42% | 5.2% | 21.7% | 436 | 0.7 miles |
| Hillhouse CofE Primary School | 43% | 5.3% | 22.4% | 341 | 0.7 miles |
| Holdbrook Primary School and Nursery | 52% | 5.9% | 45.2% | 210 | 1.2 miles |
| Upshire Primary Foundation School | 37% | 6.1% | 29.3% | 198 | 1.3 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School (Wx) | 62% | 3.8% | 9.1% | 208 | 1.4 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)
- 28.83%
- English as an additional language
- 31.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.02%
- Persistent absence
- 10%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Leverton Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Waltham Abbey
-
Hillhouse CofE Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Waltham Abbey
-
Holdbrook Primary School and Nursery1.2 miles
Primary · Waltham Cross
-
Upshire Primary Foundation School1.3 miles
Primary · Waltham Abbey
-
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School (Wx)1.4 miles
Primary · Waltham Cross
Other schools in Waltham Abbey
- Hillhouse CofE Primary School Primary
- Leverton Primary School Primary
- Nazeing Primary School Primary
- Upshire Primary Foundation School Primary
- King Harold Business & Enterprise Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy teach?
- Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Waltham Abbey.
- Who is the headteacher of Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy?
- The headteacher of Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy is Miss Sarah Clarke, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Waltham Holy Cross 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 big is Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy?
- Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy has 598 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy full?
- Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy has capacity for 630 pupils and 598 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 Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy a faith school?
- No. Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy?
- Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy 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 Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy have?
- The schools register lists Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 56% in 2022/23 and 73% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy rank locally?
- Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy ranked 116th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 83% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy's absence rate?
- Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Waltham Holy Cross 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 2 July 2026.