Applecroft School

Applecroft School has been evaluated as good overall in its first inspection since becoming an academy. The school fosters a supportive environment where pupils feel happy and safe, actively engaging in their learning and community initiatives. The curriculum is ambitious, and students are encouraged to develop a strong vocabulary across subjects. Personal development is particularly noteworthy, with numerous leadership opportunities and extracurricular activities enhancing the pupils' educational experience. However, there are areas for improvement, particularly in providing teachers with the necessary training to effectively deliver the new curriculum and ensuring that leaders can accurately assess its implementation.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy and safe, contributing meaningfully to their school and community.
• An ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum is in place.
• Strong emphasis on teaching reading with an effective phonics curriculum.
• High expectations for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Excellent personal development opportunities for pupils.
• Strong pupil attendance and engagement.
• Effective safeguarding arrangements.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers lack precise subject knowledge to teach the new curriculum confidently.
• Leaders do not fully understand relative curriculum strengths and weaknesses.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Applecroft School attended 96.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.2% of pupils at Applecroft School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Applecroft School had 21.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.5% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 10.1% of pupils at Applecroft School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Applecroft School received £6,188 and spent £6,116 for each of its 448 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £471,000 (£1,051 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Welwyn Garden City · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Applecroft School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Applecroft School is Good, from an inspection in January 2024.

When was Applecroft School last inspected by Ofsted?

Applecroft School was last inspected in January 2024.

How many pupils does Applecroft School have?

Applecroft School has 454 pupils on roll.

What age range does Applecroft School cover?

Applecroft School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Applecroft School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 78% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Applecroft School?

Applecroft School is at Applecroft Road, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, AL8 6JZ.