Barlborough Primary School

About Barlborough Primary School

Barlborough Primary School sits within the Derbyshire local authority, in the Bolsover area, and is a state primary for mixed-gender pupils aged 4 to 11. Among the 22 primary schools in Bolsover, it ranks 7th, placing it in the top third locally. The top-performing peers in the same authority — Redhill Primary School, Wessington Primary School, and Longford CofE Primary School — all share a perfect ranking score of 100, setting a high benchmark. Barlborough’s own ranking score of 66 reflects solid but not exceptional performance. The school is led by headteacher James Thompson and has 190 pupils on roll, against a capacity of 210, so there is some spare room. It is a non-religious school with no nursery or sixth form provision. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 21.1 per cent, which is a useful indicator of the school’s intake context.

Academically, Barlborough’s Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 academic year show that 66 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That is above the local authority average of 59 per cent, so the school is outperforming the typical Derbyshire primary. In reading, 79 per cent met the expected standard and 45 per cent reached a higher standard; in maths, 90 per cent met the expected standard and 34 per cent reached a higher standard. Average scaled scores were 107 in both reading and maths. However, the school’s most recent Ofsted inspection, in June 2025, rated overall effectiveness as not judged, with the quality of education requiring improvement. The previous inspection in 2011 had rated the school Good overall. Encouragingly, the 2025 inspection judged early years provision, personal development, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management all as Good, so the picture is mixed.

The school offers a range of facilities including a gymnasium, sports hall, music rooms, ICT suite, art studios, dining hall and a chapel. Sports on offer include cross country, cricket, swimming, gymnastics and dance, while clubs cover coding, eco club and drama. For children with special educational needs, the school lists provisions for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses, collected between September 2024 and September 2025 from 78 respondents, show that 91 per cent would recommend the school. Strong agreement was high on happiness (71 per cent), safety (76 per cent) and awareness of learning (72 per cent). However, only 35 per cent strongly agreed that SEND children receive the support they need, and 18 per cent strongly disagreed. The school was oversubscribed for 2025/26, with 23 first-preference offers made from 74 total applications, giving a ratio of 3.22 applicants per place. This is a school that suits families who value strong personal development and behaviour, but who may want to probe the quality of education and SEND support more closely.

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