Primary school pupils might not have GCSE or A Level exams to worry about, but choosing the right school can still make a big difference.
They make sure children have a strong academic start, building up a foundation of key skills they will use for the the rest of their lives - no matter what they end up doing. But in places like Peterborough, with smaller local or village schools, prestigious academies, high-performing faith schools, and well-run local authority schools all in close quarters, many families will find they have a decision to make.
To help, we’ve created a league table ranking state primary schools across the Peterborough City Council area. They are ranked by the percentage of their pupils who completed the national curriculum’s key stage 2 in the 2022-23 school year - the most recent data currently available - who met the government’s expected standards for reading, writing and maths.
This is an important figure based on exams and teacher evaluations at the end of Year 6, as children finish up their time at primary school. It is used to help determine whether they have learned the basic academic skills a child should have before moving on to secondary school.
We’ve selected only schools which surpassed both the national and local authority area’s averages - those with the very highest scores. All schools on the list also had an overall Ofsted rating of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ before this measure was dropped last month, meaning the quality of education provided, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and student safeguarding were all found to either meet or exceed government standards.
Here were the 18 schools from Peterborough and the surrounding area that made the grade:
1. Barnack Church of England Primary School
This is an Anglican primary school in the village of Barnack, to the north west of Peterborough. It was formerly rated ‘good’ by Ofsted, and has a roll of about 170 pupils. In the 2022/23 school year, 96% of its pupils met the expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared to 54% locally and 60% nationally. An impressive 27% were also working at a higher level, compared to the national average of 8%. | Google
2. St John's Church School
St John’s is an Anglican primary school in the Orton Goldhay area. It was formerly rated ‘good’ by Ofsted, and has a slightly larger roll of 468 pupils. In the 2022/23 school year, 92% of its pupils met the expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared to 54% locally and 60% nationally. | Google
3. Winyates Primary School
Winyates is another primary school in the Orton Goldhay area. It too was formerly rated ‘good’ by Ofsted. In the 2022/23 school year, 90% of its pupils met the expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared to 54% locally and 60% nationally. | Google
4. Hampton Hargate Primary School
This primary school is in Hampton Hargate, to the south of Peterborough. It was formerly rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, and has a particularly large roll size of 634 pupils. In the 2022/23 school year, 78% of its pupils met the expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared to 54% locally and 60% nationally. | Google