Harpenden Academy
- Primary
- Free schools
- Ages 4 to 11
URN 143648 · Hertfordshire · SCHOLARS' EDUCATION TRUST
Inspection
Ofsted management information, as at 30 September 2026.
Latest graded inspection
6 June 2019Overall effectiveness
Good
Under the earlier framework, inspections gave an overall effectiveness grade.
Ungraded inspection
5 February 2025“Improved significantly”
An ungraded inspection checks that the school is still at the standard of its last graded inspection. It does not give a new grade.
Read the reports on Ofsted’s website. Source: Ofsted, State-funded school inspections and outcomes: management information.
Attendance
Against Hertfordshire and England, primary schools.
Overall absence
2024/253.9%
- Hertfordshire
- 5.0%
- England
- 5.2%
1.3 percentage points lower than England.
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| Year | This school | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 3.5% | 4.2% | 4.2% |
| 2018/19 | 3.4% | 4.0% | 4.0% |
| 2020/21 | 2.4% | 3.3% | 3.6% |
| 2021/22 | 5.8% | 6.1% | 6.3% |
| 2022/23 | 4.7% | 5.7% | 5.9% |
| 2023/24 | 4.2% | 5.4% | 5.5% |
| 2024/25 | 3.9% | 5.0% | 5.2% |
Sessions missed for any reason, as a share of all possible sessions in the school year. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Persistent absence
2024/255.6%
- Hertfordshire
- 11.6%
- England
- 13.0%
7.4 percentage points lower than England.
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| Year | This school | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 3.7% | 8.1% | 8.7% |
| 2018/19 | 4.9% | 7.6% | 8.2% |
| 2020/21 | 1.9% | 7.4% | 8.8% |
| 2021/22 | 11.4% | 16.4% | 17.7% |
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 14.6% | 16.2% |
| 2023/24 | 10.0% | 13.4% | 14.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.6% | 11.6% | 13.0% |
Pupils who missed 10% or more of their possible sessions, as a share of pupils. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Severe absence
2024/250.5%
- Hertfordshire
- 0.9%
- England
- 0.9%
0.4 percentage points lower than England.
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| Year | This school | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 0.0% | 0.3% | 0.4% |
| 2018/19 | 0.0% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| 2020/21 | 0.0% | 0.6% | 0.7% |
| 2021/22 | 0.0% | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| 2022/23 | 0.0% | 0.8% | 0.7% |
| 2023/24 | 0.5% | 0.9% | 0.9% |
| 2024/25 | 0.5% | 0.9% | 0.9% |
Pupils who missed 50% or more of their possible sessions, as a share of pupils. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Suspensions and permanent exclusions
Against Hertfordshire and England, primary schools.
Suspensions per 100 pupils
2024/250.00
- Hertfordshire
- 2.92
- England
- 2.47
2.47 lower than England.
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| Year | This school | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 0.00 | 1.76 | 1.40 |
| 2018/19 | 0.00 | 1.92 | 1.41 |
| 2019/20 | 0.00 | 1.22 | 1.00 |
| 2020/21 | 0.00 | 1.12 | 0.99 |
| 2021/22 | 0.41 | 1.65 | 1.42 |
| 2022/23 | 2.35 | 2.24 | 1.81 |
| 2023/24 | 1.41 | 2.50 | 2.27 |
| 2024/25 | 0.00 | 2.92 | 2.47 |
Suspensions in the school year for every 100 pupils on roll. One pupil can be suspended more than once. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England, 2024/25.
Permanent exclusions per 100 pupils
2024/250.00
- Hertfordshire
- 0.02
- England
- 0.03
0.03 lower than England.
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| Year | This school | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 0.00 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| 2018/19 | 0.00 | 0.03 | 0.02 |
| 2019/20 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| 2020/21 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| 2021/22 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.02 |
| 2022/23 | 0.00 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| 2023/24 | 0.00 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| 2024/25 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.03 |
Permanent exclusions in the school year for every 100 pupils on roll. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England, 2024/25.
Key stage 2 results
Against Hertfordshire and England, primary schools.
Reading, writing and maths: expected standard
2024/2581%
- Hertfordshire
- 64%
- England
- 63%
18 percentage points higher than England.
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| Year | This school | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Not published | 60% | 59% |
| 2022/23 | 79% | 61% | 60% |
| 2023/24 | 82% | 63% | 61% |
| 2024/25 | 81% | 64% | 63% |
| 2025/26 (provisional) | Not published | 64% | 63% |
Pupils at the end of key stage 2 who met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 2 attainment, 2024/25.
Reading, writing and maths: higher standard
2024/2519%
- Hertfordshire
- 11%
- England
- 8%
11 percentage points higher than England.
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| Year | This school | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Not published | 10% | 7% |
| 2022/23 | 27% | 10% | 8% |
| 2023/24 | 12% | 9% | 8% |
| 2024/25 | 19% | 11% | 8% |
| 2025/26 (provisional) | Not published | 10% | 9% |
Pupils at the end of key stage 2 who met the higher standard in reading, writing and maths combined. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 2 attainment, 2024/25.
Pupils
Against Hertfordshire and England, primary schools.
Eligible for free school meals
2024/256.5%
- Hertfordshire
- 15.7%
- England
- 24.7%
18.2 percentage points lower than England.
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| Year | This school | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 4.1% | 14.5% | 23.1% |
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 15.2% | 24.0% |
| 2023/24 | 7.0% | 15.6% | 24.3% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 15.7% | 24.7% |
Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals on census day in January. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
SEN support
2024/2510.3%
- Hertfordshire
- 14.1%
- England
- 15.0%
4.7 percentage points lower than England.
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| Year | This school | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 12.8% | 12.6% | 13.0% |
| 2022/23 | 15.5% | 13.0% | 13.5% |
| 2023/24 | 14.1% | 13.6% | 14.1% |
| 2024/25 | 10.3% | 14.1% | 15.0% |
Pupils receiving special educational needs support without an education, health and care plan. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
Education, health and care plan
2024/253.7%
- Hertfordshire
- 3.2%
- England
- 3.5%
0.2 percentage points higher than England.
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| Year | This school | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 0.8% | 2.0% | 2.3% |
| 2022/23 | 0.9% | 2.3% | 2.5% |
| 2023/24 | 1.4% | 2.7% | 3.0% |
| 2024/25 | 3.7% | 3.2% | 3.5% |
Pupils with an education, health and care plan. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
First language other than English
2024/2517.3%
- Hertfordshire
- 21.4%
- England
- 23.4%
6.1 percentage points lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 18.6% | 18.3% | 21.2% |
| 2022/23 | 17.8% | 19.6% | 22.0% |
| 2023/24 | 18.3% | 20.8% | 22.8% |
| 2024/25 | 17.3% | 21.4% | 23.4% |
Pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
Teachers
Against Hertfordshire and England, primary schools.
Pupils per qualified teacher
2025/2625.1
- Hertfordshire
- 20.8
- England
- 21.2
3.9 higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 17.7 | 20.9 | 21.3 |
| 2018/19 | 18.6 | 20.9 | 21.4 |
| 2019/20 | 22.1 | 21.0 | 21.4 |
| 2020/21 | 23.3 | 20.8 | 21.1 |
| 2021/22 | 24.7 | 20.7 | 21.0 |
| 2022/23 | 22.7 | 20.7 | 21.1 |
| 2023/24 | 20.9 | 21.0 | 21.2 |
| 2024/25 | 23.8 | 20.8 | 21.3 |
| 2025/26 | 25.1 | 20.8 | 21.2 |
Full-time equivalent pupils for each full-time equivalent qualified teacher. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, School workforce in England, 2025/26.
Teacher sickness absence
2024/250.9 days
- Hertfordshire
- 4.3 days
- England
- 5.0 days
4.1 days lower than England.
Compared with all state-funded schools: DfE publishes this measure for all schools, not by phase.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 1.2 days | 3.0 days | 4.0 days |
| 2018/19 | 2.0 days | 3.1 days | 4.0 days |
| 2019/20 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| 2020/21 | 3.0 days | 2.9 days | 3.9 days |
| 2021/22 | 6.5 days | 5.3 days | 6.3 days |
| 2022/23 | 1.6 days | 4.4 days | 5.2 days |
| 2023/24 | 1.6 days | 4.6 days | 5.3 days |
| 2024/25 | 0.9 days | 4.3 days | 5.0 days |
Days lost to sickness absence in the school year, averaged across all teachers. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, School workforce in England, 2024/25.
Finance
Academies report their accounts as part of their trust, so DfE publishes no school-level balance for this school. The trust’s figures are in DfE’s Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool.
See this school in the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool
About the school
- Pupils on roll
- 216
- Type
- Free schools
- Phase
- Primary
- Age range
- 4 to 11
- Sixth form
- Does not have a sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SCHOLARS' EDUCATION TRUST
- Opened
- 1 September 2016
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Constituency
- Harpenden and Berkhamsted
- Deprivation of the area (IDACI)
- Decile 8 of 10 (1 is the most deprived tenth of neighbourhoods)
Address: 25 Vaughan Road, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 4EL
Website: www.harpendenacademy.co.uk
Telephone: 01582716910
Sources and corrections
Every figure on this page names its source and period. This release was built on 20 October 2026.
- Department for Education: Get Information about Schools: establishment data (GIAS establishment extract 2026-10-20)
- Ofsted: State-funded school inspections and outcomes: management information (Latest inspections as at 2026-09-30; All inspections, 2018/19; All inspections, 2019/20; All inspections, 2020/21; All inspections, 2021/22; All inspections, 2022/23; All inspections, 2023/24; All inspections, 2024/25; All inspections, 2025/26)
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Pupil absence in schools in England (absence-3term-school, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England (exc-school, 2006/07 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-ap-school, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-geography, 2006/07 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-ap-geography, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Key stage 2 attainment (ks2-school, 2022/23 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; ks2-geography, 2015/16 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Key stage 4 performance (ks4-school, 2023/24 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; ks4-geography, 2018/19 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Schools, pupils and their characteristics (School census, January 2022 (performance tables, 2021 to 2022); School census, January 2023 (performance tables, 2022 to 2023); School census, January 2024 (performance tables, 2023 to 2024); School census, January 2025 (performance tables, 2024 to 2025))
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: School workforce in England (ptr-school, 2010/11 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; ptr-geography, 2010/11 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; sickness-school, 2009/10 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; sickness-geography, 2009/10 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: English indices of deprivation 2025: Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (English indices of deprivation 2025, File 7 (2021 LSOAs))
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