About Us

St. Helen’s is a thriving and well-equipped all-age primary school situated in the attractive village of Wheathampstead. It is a voluntary-aided Church of England school within the Diocese of St. Albans which aims to ensure that its pupils are educated in accordance with the teaching and principles of the Church of England and that its curriculum is set in an educational environment which is securely based on Christian beliefs and values.

The school lies within the parish of St. Helen’s, Wheathampstead. It also caters for children from other neighbouring parishes. The children and their teachers attend church as a school regularly each half term and the Rector of St. Helen’s Church is a member of the governing body.

The present school building is the third in its history and was completed in 1969. The building was extended in 2000 and now includes ten self-contained classrooms with toilets, cloakrooms and washing facilities. The school reference library and ICT area are adjacent to the dining hall, which is partitioned off from the large school hall by a screen of folding doors.

Outdoors there are two hard surfaced playgrounds marked out for games, a large field with a football pitch, a conservation area including a pond, an agility area with large apparatus set on a safety surface and smaller apparatus set on grass, and a good-sized car park.

One of the present school premises projects is to develop the school grounds and a grounds working party including children, staff and parents has been set up. This has led to St Helen’s winning the school section of St Albans in Bloom in 2003. The grounds project is seen as a long-term project and development will continue. If you are interested in joining the working party or have ideas for the development of the school outdoor environment please contact the school office.

Our Aims:

Our vision will be realised by fulfilment of our main aims for the school which are:.

Within a Christian framework, to enlarge the children’s knowledge, experience, skill and imaginative understanding, and thus their awareness of moral values and capacity for enjoyment.

To enable them, now and in the future, as appropriate for their state of development, to take their part in life as active participants of society and responsible contributors to it, having respect for others and capable of achieving as much independence as possible.

To foster an environment where everyone in the school community sees themselves as a learner and where pupils, through a challenging and inspiring curriculum, have high expectations of themselves and experience personal success.

Charity involvement and caring for others.

Parents appreciate the strong sense of ‘belonging to the school community’ they feel at St Helen’s. They often comment on the way pupils of different ages and from different year groups care for each other. One child’s response to a pupil survey was to say ‘the school cares about me.’  Pupils and the wider school community respond exceptionally well to charity fund raising events for both local and global causes. For example, the school has recently supported the work of the ‘Mercy Ships’ outreach programme, the British Legion 2011 Poppy Appeal and provided financial support for a community in Bosnia. Helping others who are less fortunate than themselves is a priority for the pupils and families of St Helen’s.