Pope Paul Catholic Primary School: school finances
Heading for deficit
Has spent more than it received for 3 years running; at that rate its £16k reserve runs out in about 1 year.
Latest full year 2024-25, as a council-run school (CFR return, April–March). Hertfordshire · Primary · Academy converter.
Earlier years come from this school's return before it became an academy (a different DfE number).
A 2025-26 return is published too, but it covers part of a year or leaves out the income or reserve figure, so the latest complete year is shown.
Reserve at the end of each year, 2018-19 to 2024-25
Income and spending, 2018-19 to 2024-25
Income Spending
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Income | Spending | Balance | Reserve | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018-19 | £1.0m | £1.0m | +£97 | £3k | 209 |
2019-20 | £1.1m | £1.0m | +£10k | £13k | 211 |
2020-21 | £1.0m | £992k | +£37k | £51k | 210 |
2021-22 | £1.1m | £1.1m | +£404 | £51k | 207 |
2022-23 | £1.2m | £1.2m | -£15k | £36k | 208 |
2023-24 | £1.2m | £1.3m | -£9k | £27k | 210 |
2024-25 | £1.3m | £1.3m | -£11k | £16k | 211 |
Compared with similar schools
Similar schools are the 30 primary schools outside London closest in size and in the share of pupils on free school meals. Its reserve, as a share of income, is higher than 17% of them. It spends £6,350 a pupil in total; similar schools typically spend £5,851.
This school Middle half of similar schools Similar schools’ median
Show the comparison as a table
| Spending per pupil | This school | Similar schools (median) | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
Teachers | £3,197 | £2,900 | £2,693–£3,029 |
Support staff (e.g. TAs) | £975 | £1,068 | £862–£1,292 |
Supply staff | £68 | £94 | £34–£195 |
Admin and clerical | £273 | £280 | £223–£322 |
Premises | £318 | £317 | £283–£405 |
Energy | £106 | £100 | £81–£120 |
Learning resources & ICT | £447 | £236 | £182–£350 |
Bought-in services | £134 | £96 | £67–£187 |
Compare side by side with the 3 most similar schools
Which schools are these?
- Glenmere Community Primary School Healthy
- Deddington Church of England Primary School Large reserves
- Seaton Academy Large reserves
- Wilmington Primary School Large reserves
- Ashperton Primary Academy Large reserves
- Neroche Primary School Large reserves
- Clover Hill Community Primary School Large reserves
- Hall Meadow Primary School Large reserves
- St Osmund's Catholic Primary School, Salisbury Heading for deficit
- St Marys Catholic Primary School In deficit
- Houghton-on-the-Hill Church of England Primary School Healthy
- Manor Farm Academy Healthy
Where the money comes from, 2024-25
| Source | Amount | Per pupil |
|---|---|---|
Government grants | £1.2m | £5,563 |
SEN funding (part of grants) | £38k | £179 |
Pupil premium (part of grants) | £17k | £82 |
Self-generated (lettings, catering, donations) | £155k | £734 |
Money raised by parents
POPE PAUL PTFA (charity 1081363, Registered) raised £10k in its latest year.
| Year ending | Income | Spending |
|---|---|---|
2026-07 | £10k | £9k |
2025-07 | £10k | £8k |
2024-07 | £9k | £8k |
2023-07 | £14k | £18k |
2022-07 | £11k | £7k |
Matched to this school by name and postcode from the Charity Commission register. Parent associations' money isn't in the school's accounts above.
Questions to ask the school
Useful for parents, governors and PTA committees.
- What is the plan to stop spending more than the school receives each year?
- Spending on learning resources & ict is £447 a pupil, against a typical £236 for similar schools. What's behind that?
- How does the school decide what the money the parents' association raises is spent on?
Check these figures
Every figure here comes from the school's published return to the DfE. Check it on the DfE benchmarking page for this school, and see how the status is worked out.
Admissions, Ofsted and results for Pope Paul Catholic Primary School · All Hertfordshire school finances