Brimpton C.E. Primary School

About Brimpton C.E. Primary School

Brimpton C.E. Primary School is a small Church of England primary in West Berkshire that parents clearly want to get into. For the 2025/26 admissions round, the school received 12 applications for just 5 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.4. All five first-preference families were offered a spot, but with more than double the number of applicants than places, it is a competitive choice for the local area. The school has a total capacity of 63 and currently has 47 pupils on roll, so there is some physical room, but demand is running high. Ofsted inspectors visited in October 2023 and rated the school Good across every category — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision all came back as Good. That is consistent with its previous inspection in 2014, which also rated overall effectiveness as Good.

Academically, the picture is mixed and worth looking at closely. At Key Stage 2 in 2023/24, 40% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That is well below the West Berkshire local authority average of 57%. The school ranks 51st out of 57 primary schools in the authority, placing it in the bottom 50% nationally. Breaking it down, 40% met the expected standard in reading and 40% in maths, while writing was stronger at 70%. Average scores were 101 in reading and 97 in maths. No pupils achieved the higher standard in any of the three subjects. The school’s percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is 22.2%, which is above the national average, and this may be a factor in the results. The data suggests that while the school is popular with families, its academic outcomes are not keeping pace with others in the area.

The school offers a good range of facilities for its size, including a forest school, sensory room, chapel, gymnasium, library and playing fields. Sports provision covers dance, cross country, athletics, football, tennis, swimming and rounders, and there are clubs for choir, drama, art and chess. The school has a nursery provision, which is a plus for families with younger children. For SEND, the school lists support for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. With only 47 pupils, class sizes are likely to be small, which can benefit children who need more individual attention. This is a school that suits families who value a close-knit, church-affiliated setting and are comfortable with academic results that are below the local average, but who appreciate the breadth of activities and the strong parent demand that suggests a happy community.

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