Pope Paul Catholic Primary School
Pope Paul Catholic Primary School is a converter academy in Potters Bar for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 214 pupils, 4 more than it has places for. About 8 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2022.
Baker Street, Potters Bar, EN6 2ES01707 659755popepaul.herts.sch.ukMrs Elizabeth Heymoz headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 15 September 2022 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.
Results
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
30 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. These are the results of Pope Paul Catholic Primary School, the school this one replaced.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025† | 2024† | 2023† | 2019† | 2018† | 2017† | Hertfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 80% | 77% | 87% | 90% | 100% | 67% | 64% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | 30% | 7% | 13% | 20% | 17% | 3% | 10% | 8% |
| Reading scoreReading average scaled score | 109.0 | 108.0 | 109.0 | 109.0 | 111.0 | 107.0 | 106.6 | 105.6 |
| Maths scoreMaths average scaled score | 110.0 | 105.0 | 108.0 | 109.0 | 109.0 | 103.0 | 105.2 | 104.6 |
| Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score | 110.0 | 109.0 | 111.0 | 112.0 | 112.0 | 106.0 | 106.1 | 105.2 |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | 90% | 93% | 100% | 93% | 100% | 90% | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | 93% | 90% | 93% | 97% | 100% | 73% | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | 83% | 83% | 87% | 97% | 100% | 77% | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | +1.8 | +1.5 | +1.9 | +0.0 | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | +1.9 | +1.5 | +0.9 | -2.9 | – | – |
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.
† These results are for Pope Paul Catholic Primary School, the school this one replaced in October 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
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. None of the gaps is 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
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. As a Roman Catholic school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.
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 the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 30.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 30.7 (England 27.3).
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (7), Autistic spectrum disorder (4), Other difficulty or disability (3), language and communications needs (3), Physical disability (2), Specific learning difficulty (2).
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.9% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25† | 2023/24† | 2022/23† | 2021/22† | 2020/21† | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 4.1% | 4.6% | 4.7% | 5.3% | 2.3% | 3.6% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 3.4% | 3.8% | 3.8% | 4.4% | 2.1% | 3.0% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.2% | 0.6% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 8.0% | 7.2% | 8.8% | 7.0% | 2.2% | 4.4% | 12.8% |
† These attendance figures are for Pope Paul Catholic Primary School, the school this one replaced in October 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
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.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranborne Primary School | Foundation | 0.7 miles | 448 | Good 2023 | 94 | Compare |
| Ladbrooke Junior Mixed and Infant School | Council | 0.9 miles | 226 | Good 2022 | 60 | Compare |
| The Wroxham School | Academy | 0.9 miles | 218 | Good 2024 | 82 | Compare |
| St Giles' CofE Primary School | Church of England | 1.5 miles | 83 | Report card 2026 | 7 | Compare |
| Oakmere Primary School | Council | 1.5 miles | 226 | No overall grade 2024 | 12 | Compare |
| Little Heath Primary School | Foundation | 1.5 miles | 225 | Good 2024 | 45 | Compare |
| Hadley Wood Primary School | Council | 1.8 miles | 206 | Good 2022 | 91 | Compare |
| Monken Hadley CofE Primary School | Church of England | 1.9 miles | 147 | Outstanding 2023 | 98 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Pope Paul Catholic Primary School a good school?
Pope Paul Catholic Primary School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in September 2022.
What is Pope Paul Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Pope Paul Catholic Primary School good at its last full inspection on 15 September 2022.
How good are Pope Paul Catholic Primary School's SATs results?
In summer 2025, 80% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 30% went further and reached the higher level.
How many pupils does Pope Paul Catholic Primary School have?
214 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 102% full.
What is attendance like at Pope Paul Catholic Primary School?
Pupils were in school 95.9% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 8% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Pope Paul Catholic Primary School?
The average class had 30.3 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 50% 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
- Baker Street, Potters Bar, EN6 2ES
- Telephone
- 01707 659755
- Website
- www.popepaul.herts.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Elizabeth Heymoz
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 4-11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic, Archdiocese of Westminster
- Multi-academy trust
- All Saints Catholic Academy Trust (14 schools)
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Ward
- Bentley Heath & The Royds
- Constituency
- Hertsmere
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 October 2025 (academy converter)
- URN
- 151984 · LAESTAB 9193975 · UKPRN 10098555
- Formerly
- Pope Paul Catholic Primary School
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.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- 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, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- 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.