Bagthorpe Primary School

About Bagthorpe Primary School

Bagthorpe Primary School in Ashfield is a state primary for mixed pupils aged 5 to 11, currently home to 167 children against a capacity of 165. That means it is effectively full, and the demand to get in is striking: for the 2025/26 intake, the school received 73 applications for just 15 places, with 21 of those applications coming from first-preference families. The oversubscription ratio sits at 4.87, so nearly five families are competing for every spot. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 12 per cent, which is worth noting in context — though the data doesn't give the local authority average for FSM, the national primary average typically hovers around 23 per cent, so this is a significantly lower figure. The school is led by headteacher David Walton and has no religious character. It is not a boarding school and does not offer nursery provision or a sixth form.

Academically, Bagthorpe holds a Good rating from Ofsted, confirmed in its most recent graded inspection in June 2025. The breakdown shows Good across all categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 61 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which matches the local authority average of 61 per cent. Average scores were 105 in maths and 106 in reading, both slightly above the national benchmark of 100. However, no pupils achieved the higher standard in reading, writing and maths combined, and the proportion reaching higher standard in individual subjects was modest: 26 per cent in reading, 19 per cent in maths, and none in writing. The school ranks 16th out of 30 primary schools in Ashfield, placing it in the bottom half of the local authority.

Parents are overwhelmingly positive: 93 per cent would recommend the school, and in the Parent View survey covering September 2024 to September 2025, 98 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy. Strong agreement was particularly high for safety (63 per cent) and for the school letting parents know how their child is doing (41 per cent strongly agree). The school offers a range of facilities including a sports hall, sensory room, art studios, ICT suite, library, music rooms, playing fields and a chapel. Sports include athletics, gymnastics, football, netball and tennis, and clubs cover drama, chess and art club. SEND provisions are in place for moderate learning difficulty, speech, language and communication needs, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. Given the high oversubscription, this is a school that suits families who live very close to the catchment or who can demonstrate a strong connection — it is not an easy school to get into on distance alone.

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