The Abbey Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, St Albans
Voluntary aided primary school in St Albans (Hertfordshire).
Location
iSchool location from Get Information about Schools. Nearby schools are coloured by phase. Open Map+ for a full-screen map with neighbourhood deprivation (England only).About
The first Abbey School was built on a site in Spicer Street and opened in 1848. By the 1870s there were three schools on the site catering for Infants, Junior Boys and Junior Girls and Seniors. Increased numbers led to the splitting of the school and the establishment of Townsend CE School for secondary age pupils.
In 1970 the current school building was built on land belonging to the original dissolved monastery of St Albans. The school retains strong links with the Cathedral, which is its Parish Church. The Abbey School is a one form entry primary school which caters for children from rising 5 to 11.
We have the capacity for 210 pupils on roll and we operate a single intake into Reception each September. The class teachers are responsible for the education and welfare of the children in their class. Each class is supported by a Teaching Assistant with a full time Teaching Assistant in Reception.
In the school’s own words, from the school website.
Enrichment
14 activitiesiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Basketball
- Chess
- Choir
- Coding
- Dance
- Drama
- Fencing
- Football
- Gardening
- Multisports
- Music
- Netball
- Orchestra
- Forest School
Key facts
- URN
- 117449
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Sixth form
- Does not have a sixth form
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Constituency
- St Albans
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Governing body (8 current, 3 former)
Maintained school governing body.
Leadership
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Simon Oaten | Chair of Governors | Parent appointed by GB/board due to no election candidates | since 2024 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
Full governing body
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mrs Lisa Widmann | Governor | Elected by parents | since 2026 · until 2030 |
| Mrs Roselle Ambrose | Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Mr Wai-Keat Ngai | Governor | Foundation/sponsor members | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Mrs Fiona Fraser | Governor | Elected by school staff | since 2023 · until 2026 ends 2026 |
| Mr Gareth Nichols | Governor | Foundation/sponsor members | since 2022 · until 2028 |
| Mrs Linda O'Melia | Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2022 · until 2028 |
| Mrs Nikki Loan | Governor | Foundation/sponsor members | since 2020 · until 2028 |
| Canon Will Gibbs Former | Governor | Ex-officio foundation governor (appointed by foundation by virtue of the office they hold) | since 2022 · term ended 2026 |
| Mr Patrick Daws Former | Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2022 · term ended 2026 |
| Mrs Katie Wright Former | Governor | Appointed by LA | since 2022 · term ended 2026 |
Source: Department for Education, Get Information about Schools (governance records, as at 25 October 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Names are shown as published; there are no addresses or contact details. Current and former are worked out from term end dates when the page loads. Object or ask for removal · Report an issue with this record