Bearwood Primary and Nursery School

About Bearwood Primary and Nursery School

Bearwood Primary and Nursery School holds a Good rating from Ofsted, a grade it has maintained across its two most recent inspections. In its most recent graded inspection in 2019, inspectors judged the school Good across all five categories, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management. A subsequent ungraded inspection in January 2025 confirmed that standards have been maintained. The most telling exam metric for this primary school is the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2. In the 2023/24 academic year, 61% of Year 6 pupils achieved this benchmark, which is just below the local authority average of 63% for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. This places Bearwood 30th out of 50 similar schools in the LA, putting it in the bottom half locally. Nationally, the school sits in the 54th percentile, meaning it performs around the middle of the pack when compared with all primary schools across England.

Looking more closely at the individual subjects, the picture is mixed. In maths, pupils performed relatively well, with an average scaled score of 105 and 74% reaching the expected standard, while 17% achieved the higher standard. Reading was weaker, with an average score of 101 and 65% meeting expectations, and only 13% reaching the higher benchmark. Writing saw 78% of pupils meet the expected standard, with 13% reaching greater depth. The school's overall ranking score of 61, based on the combined reading, writing and maths expected standard, places it in the bottom 50% of schools nationally. Parent feedback is broadly positive, with 88% of respondents saying they would recommend the school. In the Parent View survey, 94% of parents agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy, and 92% felt their child does well. However, only 52% agreed that concerns are dealt with properly, and 23% disagreed with the statement about behaviour being well managed, suggesting some areas of dissatisfaction among a minority of families.

Bearwood is a three-form entry primary with a nursery, catering for children aged 3 to 11. It is significantly oversubscribed, receiving 91 applications for 29 places in the 2025/26 admissions round, an oversubscription ratio of 3.14. Of the 35 first-preference applications, 24 were offered places. The school has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 25%, and 16% of parents responding to the survey indicated their child has special educational needs. The school lists provisions for specific learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Facilities include a library, music rooms, a sensory room, and playing fields. Clubs on offer include choir, coding, drama, science club and chess, while sports include netball, football, cross country, dance and gymnastics. This is a school that suits families looking for a well-established local primary with strong parent satisfaction on happiness and safety, though those focused on top-tier academic outcomes may want to compare results with higher-ranked peers in the area.

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