School Chooser

Giles Junior School

Primary · ages 7-11MixedCouncil346 pupilsStevenageHertfordshire
School Chooser Score
17
Below
similar schools
Likely range 10 to 28
Out of 100. Better than 18% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, February 2023
Reached the expected level at 1152%England 63%
Attendance94.6%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families22%A bit fewer than most schools
Places14 spare346 pupils, 360 places
Pupils per teacher20.4School workforce census

Giles Junior School is a council school in Stevenage for boys and girls aged 7 to 11. It has 346 pupils and room for 360. About 22 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. We give it 17 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 18% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

Durham Road, Stevenage, SG1 4JQ01438 353374gilesjm.herts.sch.ukMiss Louise Whitby headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 2 February 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes
Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
24 October 2019UngradedSchool remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

75 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1152%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level3%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score103.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score102.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 84%84%20172018: 54%54%20182019: 68%68%20192023: 57%57%20232024: 54%54%20242025: 52%52%2025
Since 2017: -32%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017HertfordshireEngland
Pupils tested758986595756
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths52%54%57%68%54%84%64%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths3%0%3%8%7%11%10%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score103.0104.0105.0103.0104.0108.0106.6105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score102.0102.0103.0103.0102.0107.0105.2104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score102.0102.0101.0103.0105.0108.0106.1105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard68%69%74%73%74%88%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard68%65%67%73%63%93%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)69%70%71%75%84%89%
Reading progressReading progress score-0.7-2.4-2.1+1.9
Maths progressMaths progress score-2.0-2.6-2.5+0.7
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged52%49%41%53%42%75%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged52%57%65%73%61%88%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 3 of the 4 gaps are smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
52%52%
No gapEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
50%54%
Gap 4 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
63%52%
Gap 11 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%3%
Gap 3 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

A few spare places331 pupils for 378 places, 2024/25
88% full

About 47 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Hertfordshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

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.

Pupils on roll346Census January 2026
Places36096% full
Pupils from low-income families22%22% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English21%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support26%91 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan12%41 pupils with a plan
Average class size24.211 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)23%£120,900 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls182 / 164
White British pupils60%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (44), emotional and mental health (40), Autistic spectrum disorder (17), Specific learning difficulty (15), Moderate learning difficulty (6), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (5).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll346329338329331346
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals22%24%30%30%29%23%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language21%21%23%21%19%22%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support26%25%27%23%22%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans9%7%6%6%4%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.6%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school14.5%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils1.82024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.0%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.4%6.2%6.7%8.3%3.9%4.4%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.4%5.1%5.5%6.4%3.2%3.1%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.0%1.1%1.2%1.9%0.6%1.3%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence14.5%16.4%17.6%24.5%10.1%9.4%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate1.83.92.11.80.6
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers17.0full-time equivalent, 18 people
Pupils per teacher20.4Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers94%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants20.2full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£49,169
Teachers who left in the year5%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.82024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£6,891England £7,738. Total £2.3m
Income per pupil£7,189England £7,697. Total £2.4m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,136England £3,480
Money in reserve0%Very little put by: £4,799, £15 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£98kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,891spent per pupil

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

Crimes within 500 m53512 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate67 per 1,000 people27% lower than the England average
Typical house price£335,000Stevenage
Nearest bus stop280 mSt Nicholas Centre, 11 stops within 500 m

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.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
The Giles Infant and Nursery SchoolCouncil0 m325Good 202344Compare
Trotts Hill Primary and Nursery SchoolCouncil480 m236Good 202288Compare
The Leys Primary and Nursery SchoolCouncil600 m406Good 202442Compare
Martins Wood Primary SchoolAcademy790 m532Report card 202525Compare
Moss Bury Primary School and NurseryCouncil980 m226Good 202248Compare
Almond Hill Junior SchoolCouncil0.7 miles347Report card 202656Compare
Round Diamond Primary SchoolAcademy0.7 miles436Not inspected90Compare
Lodge Farm Primary SchoolFoundation1.0 miles386No overall grade 20257Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Giles Junior 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.

Beats18%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the bottom quarter of its group. Its score of 17 is 29 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 46 · highest 96100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 17 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 17% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 10 to 28. 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 atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%below
-0.14
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 75 pupils
Ofsted inspection19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.6 years old
Progress pupils make20%below
-0.17
DfE progress measure; 75 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.05
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
-0.02
2024/25; 337 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well below
-0.12
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 75 pupils
What parents say0%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 Giles Junior School a good school?

The figures are weak. Giles Junior School scores 17 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 18% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 10 to 28, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Giles Junior School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Giles Junior School good at its last full inspection on 2 February 2023.

How good are Giles Junior School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 52% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 3% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Giles Junior School have?

346 pupils aged 7 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 360 places, so it is 96% full.

Is Giles Junior School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 47 places were empty in 2024/25 (12% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Giles Junior School?

Pupils were in school 94.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 15% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Giles Junior School?

The average class had 24.2 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class 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
Durham Road, Stevenage, SG1 4JQ
Telephone
01438 353374
Website
www.gilesjm.herts.sch.uk
Headteacher
Miss Louise Whitby
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 7-11
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Hertfordshire
Ward
St Nicholas
Constituency
Stevenage
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
117306 · LAESTAB 9192381 · UKPRN 10079044

Where these figures come from