Buntingford First School
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Buntingford First School is a free school in Buntingford for boys and girls aged 2 to 9. It has 165 pupils and room for 330. About 18 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. We give it 35 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 40% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in May 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.
London Road, Buntingford, SG9 9HZ01763 290350buntingfordfirstschool.co.ukMrs Vikki Johnston headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted visited on 19 May 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.
Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
207 places were empty (69% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in.
In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place (48 offers for 60 places).
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 24.3 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 27.0 (England 27.3).
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (10), emotional and mental health (6), Physical disability (4), Autistic spectrum disorder (2), Moderate learning difficulty (2), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (2).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 165 | 123 | 70 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 19% | 15% | 10% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 3% | 2% | 3% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 13% | 19% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 4% | 3% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 91.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 8.2% | 5.4% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 6.2% | 4.0% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.0% | 1.5% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 22.4% | 13.5% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 4.9 | 4.3 | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Millfield First and Nursery School | Council | 0.7 miles | 311 | Good 2023 | 70 | Compare |
| Layston Church of England First School | Church of England | 0.9 miles | 124 | Requires improvement 2023 | 1 | Compare |
| Edwinstree Church of England Middle School | Church of England | 1.1 miles | 486 | Good 2024 | 58 | Compare |
| Hormead Church of England (VA) First School | Church of England | 2.0 miles | 143 | Good 2024 | 79 | Compare |
| Jenyns First School and Nursery | Council | 2.7 miles | 66 | No overall grade 2024 | 61 | Compare |
| St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School | Academy | 3.4 miles | 112 | Good 2023 | 56 | Compare |
| Anstey First School | Council | 3.5 miles | 39 | Report card 2026 | 10 | Compare |
| Ralph Sadleir School | Academy | 3.6 miles | 283 | Requires improvement 2024 | 11 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Buntingford First School with the 45 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 45 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher
Of those 45 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Buntingford First School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offley Endowed Primary School and Nursery | Church of England | 14.2 miles | 159 | Good 2023 | 74 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 35 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 35% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 13 to 68. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Ofsted inspection | 20% | in line | +0.17 | Ofsted report card, 0.3 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | well below | -0.35 | 2024/25; 58 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 0% | no data | – |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is Buntingford First School a good school?
It is about average. Buntingford First School scores 35 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 40% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 13 to 68, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Buntingford First School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 19 May 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as as expected, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as strong.
How many pupils does Buntingford First School have?
165 pupils aged 2 to 9 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 330 places, so it is 50% full.
Is Buntingford First School oversubscribed?
Probably not. 207 places were empty in 2024/25 (69% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at Buntingford First School?
Pupils were in school 91.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 22% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Buntingford First School?
The average class had 27.5 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 17% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- London Road, Buntingford, SG9 9HZ
- Telephone
- 01763 290350
- Website
- www.buntingfordfirstschool.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Vikki Johnston
- Type of school
- Free school (Free schools, free schools)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 2-9, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- Scholars' Education Trust (13 schools)
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Ward
- Buntingford
- Constituency
- North East Hertfordshire
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2023 (academy free school)
- URN
- 149748 · LAESTAB 9192121 · UKPRN 10093043
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Hertfordshire council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2024, 2025, 2026.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.