King James Academy Royston

Academy converter·Primary school Royston, Hertfordshire·SG8 7JH
Composite score
35.5
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#12,269
National rank
#1350
In East of England
#290
In Hertfordshire
Top 83%
Nationally

Primary performance (KS2 SATs)

% meeting expected RWM
51%
% achieving higher RWM
2%
Reading average scaled score
104.0
National avg ≈ 105
Maths average scaled score
102.0
National avg ≈ 104
Reading progress
—
Maths progress
—

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
3 first choices, 6 places
First choices per place
0.50
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
18
any preference, for 6 places
Last place offered lived
1.47 mi
straight line, 2026 intake · 2364 m
Applications from another council area
6%
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.50
00.511.5
1 per place
0.0020220.0020230.0020240.0020250.502026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

The cut-off distance is how far the last child offered a place lived, not a catchment boundary: it moves every year with the number of applicants. Published by the council in its 2026 allocation figures, and checked against that document before we show it.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

Secondary performance (KS4 GCSE)

King James Academy Royston is an all-through school covering ages 9–18, so it has two sets of results. The headline score above reflects its primary (KS2) results, ranked against other primaries; its GCSE (KS4) results — ranked separately against other secondaries — are shown here.

#2,478
National rank
#274
In East of England
#65
In Hertfordshire
Top 78%
Nationally
Attainment 8 score
40.3
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
34%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
53%
% EBacc grade 5+
14%
EBacc average points score
3.52

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes
Sixth form provision
Good

School profile

Age range
9–18
Pupils on roll
939
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
21.0%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
6.5%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
13.4%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
2.6%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
8.6%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
23.3%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
21.9
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£7,100
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
92%
119 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
87%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
4%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby primary schools

Location

School overview

King James Academy Royston is an all-through school serving Royston, Hertfordshire, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. It has 939 pupils aged 9 to 18 on roll. At its most recent graded inspection, Ofsted rated King James Academy Royston 'Good'. In the most recent Key Stage 2 SATs, 51% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — below the national average of 61%. That is down 5.0 percentage points in the proportion reaching the expected standard on the previous year. At GCSE, the school's average Attainment 8 score was 40.3, below the national average of 46. On our composite score, King James Academy Royston ranks in the lower half of primary schools nationally for its primary (KS2) results. For its secondary (KS4) results, it ranks in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 104 in reading and 102 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 2% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). At Key Stage 4, 34% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, below the national average of about 45%. Overall pupil absence was 8.6%. There are about 21.9 pupils per teacher. When you visit, you might ask how the school stretches its higher-attaining pupils and supports those who need to catch up. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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