Buckingham Primary School

About Buckingham Primary School

Of the 76 parents who responded to Ofsted's Parent View survey between September 2024 and September 2025, 83% said they would recommend Buckingham Primary School to other parents. That's a strong vote of confidence, though it's worth noting that 17% said they wouldn't. The school is clearly popular locally: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 82 applications for just 42 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.95. All 42 first-preference applicants were offered a place, so getting your child in depends heavily on living in the catchment area. The school's most recent Ofsted inspection, in February 2025, rated behaviour and attitudes as Outstanding, while leadership and management, quality of education, personal development, and early years provision were all judged Good. That's a step down from its previous Outstanding rating in 2014, but still a solid result.

Academically, Buckingham Primary sits in the middle of the pack. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 60% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, just below the Buckinghamshire local authority average of 64%. The school ranks 85th out of 137 primary schools in the county, placing it in the bottom half. Reading is a relative strength: 81% of pupils met the expected standard and 41% reached the higher standard, with an average score of 107. Maths is more mixed: 65% met the expected standard and 32% reached the higher standard, with an average score of 103. Writing is the weakest area, with only 75% at expected and just 8% at the higher standard. Progress scores aren't available, so it's hard to say how much value the school adds for individual children.

The school offers a good range of facilities including a library, sports hall, playing fields, forest school, sensory room, art studios and music rooms. Clubs include drama, choir, chess and coding, while sports on offer are football, cricket, swimming, athletics, tennis, cross country and netball. The SEND provision is broad, covering dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health, speech and language needs, visual impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. However, the Parent View data on SEND support is notably split: 42% strongly agreed that children with SEND get the support they need, but 25% strongly disagreed, and 17% disagreed. That's a significant minority of unhappy parents. With 17.6% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a fairly mixed catchment. It's a good fit for families who value a broad range of activities and a strong behaviour culture, but those with children who have SEND needs may want to dig deeper into the support on offer.

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