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Ashwell Primary School

Community school in Baldock, SG7 5QL, taking ages 3 to 11, 229 on roll.

Report card Ofsted, Jun 2026
2.21 mi Admitted from, latest published year
97% Full
74.0% Met the expected standard, 2024/25

Will an address get in?

In the latest published round, the furthest child offered a place lived 2.21 miles away.

Applying for September 2027? Primary applications close 15 January 2027; offers on 16 April 2027.

The circle is 2.21 miles, the distance the school admitted from in the latest published year.

This is not a catchment area. 2.21 miles was last year's outcome, not a boundary and not a promise.
How to read this

Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Ashwell Primary School is oversubscribed, places go outward from the school until they run out, so the distance moves each year with how many families applied and where they lived.

Distances are measured from the postcode's centre, not a front door; a postcode covers a few houses. Siblings, looked-after children come before distance, so a school can fill before distance counts at all.

Real admission areas are not circular: the circle is the distance, not a boundary.

The address on the closing date is the one the council uses. How admissions work.

Source: Hertfordshire, published admission distances

Two schools, both in reach

Two children, or a first and second preference? Add a second school to see where both are in reach, cheapest districts first. Only a school with a published distance can be added.

If the answer is no, you can appeal. In Hertfordshire, 109 of 519 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (21.0%; England 19.9%), counted for all the council's schools together. How every council compares.

The distance as a picture

Ashwell Primary School catchment area map: the 2.21 mile admission distance
Drawn to scale from the published figure. Save the picture, or share this page and this is the card that appears.

What kind of school this is

Religious characterNo religious character
Sixth formDoes not have a sixth form
How full 229 pupils in 236 places (97% full)
Local authorityHertfordshire

Department for Education register (GIAS).

How the school is doing

Ofsted Report card, June 2026: 5 areas strong or exceptional, 2 at the expected standard
Report card
  • Safeguarding Met
  • Inclusion Strong standard
  • Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
  • Achievement Expected standard
  • Attendance and behaviour Strong standard
  • Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard
  • Early years Strong standard
  • Post-16 provision Not applicable
  • Leadership and governance Strong standard
Ofsted stopped giving schools a single overall grade in 2024; from November 2025 each area is judged on this five-point scale.
Meeting the expected standard 74.0% in reading, writing and maths (2024/25)
YearMeeting the expected standard
2024/25 74.0%
2023/24 65.0%
2022/23 68.0%

Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.

Who goes to Ashwell Primary School

Girls and boys52.4% girls, 47.6% boys
English as an additional language4.4% of pupils
Free school meals8.7% of pupils eligible

DfE school census, most recent published year.

Getting to Ashwell Primary School by bus

Best-served stop: West End, 0.4 mi away, with 0.8 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 07:31, last 16:31.

Every stop within 600 m
StopFrom the schoolWeekday daytime, an hourEveningSundayRoutes
Gardiners Lane147 yd0.40.00.091, 91A
Gardiners Lane149 yd0.30.00.091, 91A
Post Office0.2 mi0.30.00.091, 91A

These are scheduled departures, not buses observed running. Two stops on opposite sides of a road are two rows.

Source: operators' timetables on the Bus Open Data Service (Department for Transport), week of 8 Sep 2026

The fee-paying alternative

Weighing Ashwell Primary School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around SG7: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at SG7 5QL, by the school: council tax, energy, prices, rent, stamp duty →

Checking the house as well as the school

The full report checks one address against every nearby school, with sold prices, flood risk and crime.

Common questions

What is the catchment area for Ashwell Primary School?

Ashwell Primary School does not have one in the sense most people mean. Like most English schools, an oversubscribed year offers places outward from the school until they run out. The nearest thing to an answer: the furthest child admitted in the latest published year lived 2.21 miles away, per Hertfordshire.

How close do I need to live to get a place at Ashwell Primary School?

Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 2.21 miles was enough in the latest published year. The distance moves every year with the number of applications, so treat last year's figure as evidence, not a promise.

Does buying a house near Ashwell Primary School guarantee a place?

No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings ahead of distance, so places can be filled before distance is reached. Councils also check that the address is genuinely where the child lives.

Every Hertfordshire school's distance

All Hertfordshire schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →

Put Ashwell Primary School's figure on your own site

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Admission distance published by Hertfordshire. School details from the Department for Education's register, ratings from Ofsted. Read how every figure on this site is sourced on the methodology page. If something here looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.