Asterdale Primary School

About Asterdale Primary School

Asterdale Primary School is a state-funded mixed primary in Derby, serving 225 pupils aged 3 to 11. It sits 35th out of 58 primary schools in the local authority, placing it in the bottom half of Derby’s state primaries. The top-performing peers in the area include Griffe Field Primary School, Gayton Junior School, and St Mary’s Catholic Voluntary Academy, all of which score significantly higher on the same ranking metric. The nearest school rated Outstanding by Ofsted is Wyndham Spencer Academy, 3.7 kilometres away. Asterdale itself was rated Requires Improvement in its most recent graded inspection in June 2023, a drop from its previous Good rating in 2014. The inspection found that quality of education and leadership and management both require improvement, while behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and early years provision were all judged Good. The school is led by headteacher John O’Leary and has no religious character.

In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 52% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, just below the Derby local authority average of 55%. The school’s ranking score of 52 places it in the bottom 50 nationally, at the 75th percentile among all primary schools. Reading was the strongest subject, with 83% reaching the expected standard and 26% achieving a higher score. Maths followed at 74% expected and 17% higher, while writing lagged at 65% expected and 13% higher. Only 4% of pupils reached the higher standard across all three subjects. Progress scores are not available for reading, writing or maths, so it is unclear how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points. The school’s average reading score was 105 and maths 102, both slightly above the national average of 100, but the low combined higher-standard figure suggests limited stretch for the most able pupils.

Asterdale has a nursery provision and offers a range of facilities including music rooms, playing fields, a gymnasium, dining hall, sensory room and chapel. Sports on offer include gymnastics, athletics, dance and cross country, and clubs include film, coding and art. The school is oversubscribed for Reception places in 2025/26, with 48 applications for 27 places and all 27 first-preference offers taken up, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.78. It has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 25.9%, and its SEND provisions cover moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. This combination of specialist support and a broad extracurricular offer may appeal to families seeking a community-focused primary with strong pastoral care, though the Requires Improvement rating means academic outcomes and leadership are areas to watch closely.

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