School Chooser

St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green

Primary · ages 4-11MixedChurch of England137 pupilsHatfieldHertfordshire
School Chooser Score
3
Well below
similar schools
Likely range 1 to 6
Out of 100. Better than 4% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, March 2025
Reached the expected level at 1150%England 63%
Attendance92.8%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families25%About the same as most schools in England
Places73 spare137 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher15.9School workforce census

St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green is a Church of England school (voluntary aided) in Hatfield for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 137 pupils and room for 210. About 25 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. We give it 3 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 4% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.

Dellsome Lane, Welham Green, Hatfield, AL9 7NE01707 276725stmarys565.herts.sch.ukMr Adrian Petty headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 18 March 2025, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Requires improvement
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Requires improvement
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Requires improvement
Early years
Requires improvement
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1150%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score104.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score100.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 33%33%20172018: 67%67%20182019: 50%50%20192023: 45%45%20232024: 32%32%20242025: 50%50%2025
Since 2017: +17%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017HertfordshireEngland
Pupils tested242829141521
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths50%32%45%50%67%33%64%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%13%0%10%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score104.099.0101.0101.0106.0104.0106.6105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score100.098.0101.0101.0105.0100.0105.2104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score101.097.0100.0100.0107.0103.0106.1105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard75%50%59%57%80%71%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard63%39%55%64%80%52%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)67%36%52%71%73%62%
Reading progressReading progress score-5.3+1.2+0.3+3.1
Maths progressMaths progress score-5.1-0.7+0.4-0.7
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged60%17%38%33%71%13%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged43%44%48%63%63%46%

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. 2 of the 3 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
60%43%
Gap 17 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
40%67%
Gap 27 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 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. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

Plenty of spare places162 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
77% full

48 places were empty (23% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. 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 roll137Census January 2026
Places21065% full
Pupils from low-income families25%25% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English27%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support10%14 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan2%3 pupils with a plan
Average class size19.67 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)27%£58,900 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls60 / 77
White British pupils45%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 15.7 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 22.5 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Specific learning difficulty (7), language and communications needs (6), Autistic spectrum disorder (2), emotional and mental health (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll137157183170150148
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals25%29%32%31%37%41%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language27%29%28%17%15%14%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support14%14%18%25%20%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans3%2%2%1%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 92.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance92.8%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school23.7%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils15.92024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission2.7%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence7.2%8.9%11.1%10.1%7.6%8.5%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.5%5.0%5.8%6.4%3.6%6.0%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.7%3.9%5.3%3.7%4.0%2.6%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence23.7%30.7%31.8%33.8%23.6%25.5%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate15.928.432.421.32.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions01000

Staff and money

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

Teachers8.6full-time equivalent, 9 people
Pupils per teacher15.9Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants6.8full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£47,897
Teachers who left in the year38%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher13.42024/25

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£8,502England £7,738. Total £1.3m
Income per pupil£8,651England £7,697. Total £1.4m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,564England £3,480
Money in reserve11%A healthy amount put by: £150k, £957 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£23kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£8,502spent 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 m13212 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate88 per 1,000 peopleabout the England average
Typical house price£430,000Welwyn Hatfield
Nearest bus stop190 mDellsome Lane, 9 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
De Havilland Primary SchoolAcademy0.9 miles425Good 202355Compare
Brookmans Park Primary SchoolFoundation1.2 miles345Good 202379Compare
Oak View Primary and Nursery SchoolCouncil1.4 miles395Good 202347Compare
St Philip Howard Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic1.5 miles438Good 202437Compare
Hatfield Community Free SchoolFree school1.6 miles406No overall grade 202548Compare
Colney Heath Primary SchoolAcademy1.8 milesGood 2022Compare
Countess Anne Church of England SchoolAcademy2.0 miles209Outstanding 201978Compare
Birchwood Avenue Primary SchoolCouncil2.3 miles202Good 202315Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green with the 46 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 46 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats4%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the bottom of its group. Its score of 3 is 27 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 30 · highest 99100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 46 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green, 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.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Chambersbury Primary SchoolFoundation9.5 miles184Good 202211Compare
Coteford Infant SchoolCouncil13.2 miles175Good 202212Compare
All Souls CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England15.4 miles180No overall grade 202579Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 3 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 3% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 1 to 6. 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
-0.19
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 24 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%well below
-0.46
Ofsted grade, 1.5 years old
Progress pupils make20%well below
-0.27
DfE progress measure; 24 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%above
+0.06
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well below
-0.13
2024/25; 156 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well below
-0.19
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 24 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 St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green a good school?

The figures are weak. St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green scores 3 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 4% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 1 to 6, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green not judged at its last full inspection on 18 March 2025.

How good are St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 50% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green have?

137 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 65% full.

Is St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green oversubscribed?

Probably not. 48 places were empty in 2024/25 (23% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green?

Pupils were in school 92.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 24% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at St Mary's Church of England VA Primary School, Welham Green?

The average class had 19.6 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
Dellsome Lane, Welham Green, Hatfield, AL9 7NE
Telephone
01707 276725
Website
www.stmarys565.herts.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mr Adrian Petty
Type of school
Church of England school (voluntary aided) (Voluntary aided school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England, Diocese of St Albans
Local authority
Hertfordshire
Ward
Welham Green and Hatfield South
Constituency
Welwyn Hatfield
Setting
Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
117497 · LAESTAB 9193976 · UKPRN 10070361

Where these figures come from