Arnesby Church of England Primary School

About Arnesby Church of England Primary School

Arnesby Church of England Primary School received a Requires Improvement rating in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, a drop from the Good rating it had held since its previous graded inspection in 2013. The inspection judged every category — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — as requiring improvement. The most telling exam metric is the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2: just 29% did so in the 2023/24 academic year. That is well below the Leicestershire local authority average of 62% for primary schools, and it places Arnesby at the very bottom of the 32 primary schools in Harborough district. Nationally, the school sits in the bottom 3% of all primary schools on this measure, with a ranking score of just 29 out of 100.

Looking more closely at the individual subjects, 57% of pupils met the expected standard in reading and 57% in maths, but writing lagged behind at 43%. At the higher standard — working at greater depth — the figures are 29% in reading, 29% in maths, 14% in writing, and 14% across all three subjects combined. The average scaled scores were 105 in reading and 106 in maths, both just above the national benchmark of 100. Progress scores are not available for the school, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. With only 39 pupils on roll and a capacity of 70, the cohort sizes are very small, meaning a single child's result can swing the percentages significantly. The school has a very low proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 2.6%, which is unusual for a school with this level of attainment.

Arnesby is a Church of England primary school for children aged 3 to 11, with a nursery on site. It offers a range of facilities including a library, music rooms, art studios, an ICT suite, a chapel, and outdoor playground and playing fields. Sports on offer include swimming, gymnastics, cross country and football, and there are clubs such as coding, chess, film club, book club, gardening and science club. The school has identified SEND provisions for pupils with specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, speech, language and communication needs, social and emotional mental health difficulties, and physical disabilities. For the 2025/26 reception intake, the school was oversubscribed: 22 applications for just 3 places, with all 3 first-preference applicants offered a place. That gives an oversubscription ratio of 7.33, so securing a place is competitive despite the school's academic rating. This is a small village school with a strong local pull, best suited to families who prioritise a close-knit, faith-based setting and are comfortable with the current academic trajectory.

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