The Grove Infant and Nursery School
Dark Lane, Harpenden, AL5 1QD
243 pupils · 90% of 270 capacity
- Phase
- Primary
- Type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3–7
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Does not apply
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Free school meals
- 2.6%
Ofsted
Outstanding (2023) — Rated under the pre-September 2024 inspection system
This school has not yet been inspected under the report-card system introduced in November 2025. When it is, this section will show a grade for each area — Ofsted says the new grades do not map onto the old ones, so we do not predict them.
Inspected 7 November 2023, published 17 December 2023. Read the full Ofsted report
England has three coexisting inspection systems — how we translate them into one signal.
Will my child get in?
Usually has places available — 0.86 first-choice applications per place (Sept 2026 entry)
| Entry | Places | 1st preferences | Total preferences | Offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 entry | 59 | 51 | 141 | 59 |
| Sept 2025 entry | 60 | 69 | 180 | 60 |
| Sept 2024 entry | 75 | 61 | 173 | 74 |
| Sept 2023 entry | 63 | 62 | 158 | 63 |
| Sept 2022 entry | 78 | 71 | 180 | 78 |
| Sept 2021 entry | 89 | 96 | 232 | 89 |
| Sept 2020 entry | 90 | 77 | 215 | 90 |
| Sept 2019 entry | 90 | 76 | 210 | 90 |
First-choice demand varies year to year, and the school’s admission criteria — not demand — decide who is offered a place. Use this as a rough signal, never a prediction.
Nearby alternatives
- The Grove Junior School 0.1 km · Good — confirmed 2022 · previous system
- High Beeches Primary School 0.6 km · Outstanding — confirmed 2023 · previous system
- Crabtree Infants' School 0.9 km · Outstanding (2024) · previous system
- Crabtree Junior School 0.9 km · Outstanding (2023) · previous system
- St Dominic Catholic Primary School 1.1 km · Outstanding (2023) · previous system
- Harpenden Academy 1.4 km · Improved significantly (2025)
Straight-line distance — not travel time, and not a catchment. Same phase, open schools only.
Data from DfE and Ofsted open data (OGL v3) — sources. School record updated 10 July 2026. Report incorrect data.