Katherine Semar Infant School

Academy converter·Infant school Saffron Walden, Essex·CB11 4DU

School type

Infant school

Ages 4–7

Key Stage 2 performance

Katherine Semar Infant School is an infant school for pupils aged 4–7. Pupils move on to a separate junior or middle school before Year 6, so the school does not enter pupils for the Key Stage 2 SATs and has no KS2 results to publish.

This applies to every infant school in England — it does not mean data is missing. Ofsted judgements and school information are shown below.

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first

100%

59 first choices, 59 places

First choices per place

1.00

fewer first choices than places

Applications naming the school

149

any preference, for 59 places

Last place offered lived

1.79 mi

straight line, 2025 intake · 2876 m

First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.03

00.511.5

1 per place

1.1520221.3220231.1520240.9720251.002026

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 2025 allocation figures, and checked against that document before we show it. In 2026 the school was not oversubscribed, so no distance limit applied.

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

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Quality of education

Outstanding

Behaviour and attitudes

Outstanding

Personal development

Outstanding

Leadership and management

Outstanding

Safeguarding effective?

Yes

Early years provision

Outstanding

School profile

Age range: 4–7
Pupils on roll: 180
Gender: Mixed
Religious character: None

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6

10.6%

Typical primary: 21.5%

% EAL

12.8%

Typical primary: 9.6%

Special educational needs

% SEN support

10.0%

Typical primary: 14.3%

% with an EHC plan

2.2%

Typical primary: 3.0%

Attendance

Overall absence

3.8%

Typical primary: 5.3%

Persistently absent

5.0%

Typical primary: 13.3%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher

25.3

Typical primary: 20.7

Spend per pupil

£7,200

Typical primary: £6,960

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

Nearby primary schools

Katherine Semar Junior School Saffron Walden · 0.0 mi 77.0 St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, Saffron Walden Saffron Walden · 0.6 mi 79.8 R A Butler Junior School Saffron Walden · 0.7 mi 88.3 St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Saffron Walden · 1.1 mi 72.6 Debden Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary Academy Saffron Walden · 2.5 mi 63.5 Newport Primary School Newport · 2.7 mi 10.4 Radwinter Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Saffron Walden · 3.9 mi 44.4 Ashdon Primary School Saffron Walden · 4.1 mi 13.0

Location

Official sources

Latest Ofsted report reports.ofsted.gov.uk DfE Compare School Performance compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk GIAS school details get-information-schools.service.gov.uk

School overview

Katherine Semar Infant School is a primary school serving Saffron Walden, Essex, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. It has 180 pupils aged 4 to 7 on roll.

Katherine Semar Infant School was not oversubscribed for September 2026: all 59 families who put it first were offered a place. The council's own allocation figures show the last child offered a place for 2025 lived 1.79 miles away in a straight line — that distance is not a fixed catchment and moves each year. Overall pupil absence was 3.8%. There are about 25.3 pupils per teacher. Its intake is relatively advantaged, with around 11% of pupils eligible for free school meals in the last six years versus about 24% nationally. Katherine Semar Infant School does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. 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.