Abbeymead Primary School

About Abbeymead Primary School

Abbeymead Primary School’s headline metrics paint a mixed picture against the Gloucestershire average for primary schools. While its reading and maths average scores of 109 and 104 respectively are solid, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined sits at 56%, just below the local authority average of 59%. That three-point gap places the school in the bottom half of primary schools nationally, at the 66th percentile, and 117th out of 243 similar schools in the county. Yet this isn’t the full story. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023 awarded it an overall rating of Outstanding, a significant upgrade from its previous Good rating in 2016. Every single category — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — was judged Outstanding. So while the headline KS2 combined figure lags the LA average, the school’s inspection outcome suggests strengths that raw exam data alone doesn’t capture.

Digging into the KS2 results reveals more nuance. In reading, 83% of pupils met the expected standard and 44% reached the higher standard, both well above the national picture. Maths tells a similar story: 78% at expected and 20% at higher. Writing is the weaker area, with 71% at expected and 19% at higher. The combined figure of 56% is dragged down by the fact that pupils must hit the expected standard in all three subjects simultaneously. The school’s Progress 8 scores are not available in the data, so it’s impossible to say how much value the school adds from starting points. However, the Ofsted report from November 2023 — published in December 2023 — notes Outstanding behaviour and attitudes, and Outstanding personal development, which suggests a school where pupils are engaged and supported beyond just exam performance. The school ranks 12th out of 25 primary schools in Gloucester itself, placing it in the middle of the city’s pack.

Abbeymead is a state primary for mixed genders aged 4 to 11, with 418 pupils on roll against a capacity of 420, so it’s effectively full. It is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 256 applications for 60 places, an oversubscription ratio of 4.27, with 58 of those 60 places going to first-preference applicants. That means most local families who want a place get one, but competition is fierce. The school offers a wide range of facilities including a library, music rooms, ICT suite, sensory room, playing fields, gymnasium and even a chapel. Sports include rounders, swimming, football and cricket, and clubs cover drama, book club and choir. SEND provision is broad, covering dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health, speech and language needs, hearing and visual impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. This is a school that suits families who value strong pastoral care and a broad curriculum, and who are comfortable with the fact that its headline KS2 results sit slightly below the LA average despite an Outstanding Ofsted rating.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Abbeymead Primary School

Helpful Guides for Parents