Primary school in Harpenden, Hertfordshire
The Grove Infant and Nursery School
Dark Lane, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 1QD
Ofsted
Graded Outstanding at its last graded inspection, on 7 November 2023.
Ofsted stopped awarding single-word overall grades in September 2024. This grade is 2 years old and will not be updated — the school keeps it until its next inspection, which will not produce a replacement grade.
Pupils
- Pupils on roll
- 243
- Places
- 270
- How full
- 90% full — 243 of 270 places taken
- Girls / boys
- 117 / 126
- Overall absence
- 4%
- Persistently absent
- 9%
primary schools average 5.2%
primary schools average 12.8% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions
- Free school meals, last 6 years
- 3%
- English as an additional language
- 8%
- With an EHC plan
- 1%
- On SEN support
- 11%
England 25.7%
England 18.7%
England 3.5%
England 15%
The neighbourhood around the school
Census 2021 figures for St Albans 005A, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.
- Adults with a degree
- 62%
- Adults with no qualifications
- 6%
- Households owning their home
- 90%
- Households in social housing
- 5%
- Households with no car
- 8%
- Adults economically inactive
- 37%
England 33.8%
England 18.3%
England 62.7%
England 17%
England 21.9%
England 39.9%
School details
- Type
- Community school
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- Ages 3–7
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- Yes
- Boarding
- Day school
- Headteacher
- Headteacher: Andrea Sharkey
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Ward
- Harpenden South
- Constituency
- Harpenden and Berkhamsted
- URN
- 117281
The unique reference number used in all official school data.
Nearest primary schools
| School | Ofsted | Expected standard | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Grove Junior SchoolCommunity school | Good 2022 | 82% | 0 mi |
| High Beeches Primary SchoolCommunity school | Outstanding 2023 | 80% | 0.4 mi |
| Crabtree Infants' SchoolAcademy converter | Outstanding 2024 | — | 0.6 mi |
| Crabtree Junior SchoolAcademy converter | Outstanding 2023 | 86% | 0.6 mi |
| St Dominic Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy converter | Outstanding 2023 | — | 0.7 mi |
| Harpenden AcademyFree schools | No grade | 81% | 0.9 mi |
| St Nicholas CofE VA Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | Good 2022 | 91% | 1.1 mi |
| Manland Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2024 | 91% | 1.2 mi |
Where these figures come from
- School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
- Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25.
- Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
- Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
- Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.
All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.