The Grove Junior School

St Albans · AL5 1QB

General information Junior School · 7-11 years Who goes here 350 pupils, 9.1% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 18.3% on SEN support Behaviour 2.9% absence rate Staff 5.6% turnover Financials £6,097 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Grove Junior School

General Information

Address: Dark Lane, Harpenden, AL5 1QB – View on map
Phone: 01582760031
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Miss Lorna Urquhart
Age range: 7-11 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

350 pupils out of 360 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 32
% eligible for free school meals: 9.1%
Pupil mix: 4 in 10 (less mixed than the St Albans average)
English as an additional language: 11% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 5.6% a year (St Albans 16%, typical in England 13.9%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 19% moved to another school, 81% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Hertfordshire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 33 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 13 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 3 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Hertfordshire (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 2.9%
Persistently absent pupils: 4.9%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 18.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 28 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 10 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 9 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2022 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 82% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 19% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 6 percentage points above the St Albans average (76%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (3-year average 77% against an expected 68%)
3-year average (expected standard): 77%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 91% · Writing 85% · Maths 86% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 83%
Average test scores: reading 110, maths 109
Based on: 88 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolSt Albans averageEngland↗ Improving Up 8 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 6 percentage points above the St Albans average (76%).

Year 6 SATs: 12th of 42 junior and primary schools in the area

#10London Colney Primary & Nursery School85%
#11Saint Bernadette Voluntary Catholic Primary Academy83%
#12The Grove Junior School82%
=13Harpenden Academy81%
=13St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, St Albans81%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Maple Primary School93%
=2Manland Primary School91%
=2St Nicholas CofE VA Primary School91%
=4Cunningham Hill Junior School87%
=4Prae Wood Primary School87%
=4Skyswood Primary & Nursery School87%
=4The Abbey Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, St Albans87%
=4Wheatfields Junior Mixed School87%
#9Crabtree Junior School86%
#10London Colney Primary & Nursery School85%
#11Saint Bernadette Voluntary Catholic Primary Academy83%
#12The Grove Junior School82%
=13Harpenden Academy81%
=13St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, St Albans81%
=15High Beeches Primary School80%
=15Samuel Ryder Academy80%
=15St Adrian Roman Catholic Primary School80%
=15Wood End School80%
=19Bernards Heath Junior School78%
=19Fleetville Junior School78%
=19Killigrew Primary and Nursery School78%
#22Alban City School77%
#23Mandeville Primary School75%
#24Oakwood Primary School74%
#25St Peter's School73%
=26Camp Primary and Nursery School71%
=26St Helen's Church of England Primary School71%
#28The Lea Primary School and Nursery70%
=29Garden Fields Junior Mixed and Infant School69%
=29Roundwood Primary School69%
#31St John Fisher Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy68%
=32Park Street Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School67%
=32Redbourn Primary School67%
#34Aboyne Lodge Junior Mixed and Infant School66%
#35How Wood Primary and Nursery School62%
#36Margaret Wix Primary School61%
#37Sauncey Wood Primary School59%
=38Mount Pleasant Lane Primary School53%
=38Sandridge School53%
#40Beech Hyde Primary School and Nursery50%
#41Windermere Primary School48%
#42Bowmansgreen Primary School41%

View full Ofsted inspection report

5th of 6 junior schools in St Albans for Ofsted rating

#3Bernards Heath Junior SchoolGood
#4Fleetville Junior SchoolGood
#5The Grove Junior SchoolGood
#6Wheatfields Junior Mixed SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Crabtree Junior SchoolOutstanding
#2Cunningham Hill Junior SchoolOutstanding
#3Bernards Heath Junior SchoolGood
#4Fleetville Junior SchoolGood
#5The Grove Junior SchoolGood
#6Wheatfields Junior Mixed SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,097 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

4th of 6 junior schools in St Albans for spending per pupil

#2Bernards Heath Junior School£6,235
#3Wheatfields Junior Mixed School£6,192
#4The Grove Junior School£6,097
#5Fleetville Junior School£5,779
#6Crabtree Junior School£5,727

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Cunningham Hill Junior School£7,122
#2Bernards Heath Junior School£6,235
#3Wheatfields Junior Mixed School£6,192
#4The Grove Junior School£6,097
#5Fleetville Junior School£5,779
#6Crabtree Junior School£5,727

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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