Castle Mead School

About Castle Mead School

Castle Mead School is a state primary in Wiltshire that currently educates 376 pupils, operating below its official capacity of 420. The school serves a community where 23.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, a figure that sits above the national average for primary schools and suggests a relatively high level of socio-economic diversity within the intake. Demand for places is strong: for the 2025/26 academic year, the school received 66 applications for just 39 available places, making it oversubscribed with a ratio of 1.69 applicants per place. All 39 first-preference families received an offer, indicating that while the school is popular, it is still accessible to those who prioritise it. The school is mixed, non-denominational, and caters for children aged 2 to 11, including a nursery provision. Headteacher Emma Larkham leads a school that has held a Good rating from Ofsted since at least 2017, with its most recent graded inspection in 2023 confirming the same standard across all five key areas.

Academically, Castle Mead’s Key Stage 2 results for 2023/24 show a mixed picture. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined was 56%, which is slightly below the Wiltshire local authority average of 58%. In individual subjects, 72% met expectations in both maths and writing, while 62% did so in reading. The school’s average scaled scores were 103 in both reading and maths, exactly in line with the national average. However, the proportion of pupils achieving the higher standard across all three subjects was just 4%, and in reading only 16% reached that level. This places the school in the bottom 50 nationally for its combined expected standard score, ranking 89th out of 159 primary schools in Wiltshire. Progress measures for reading, writing and maths were not published in the data, so it is unclear how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including an ICT suite, sensory room, sports hall, playing fields and a gymnasium, with sporting options covering football, cricket, tennis, swimming and athletics. Clubs include film, art, coding and drama. For families with children who have additional needs, the SEND provision is notably comprehensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, speech and language needs, hearing impairment, autistic spectrum disorder and social, emotional and mental health support, alongside a dedicated SEN unit. The school is oversubscribed but not prohibitively so, making it a realistic option for local families who apply in time. It suits parents looking for a primary with strong pastoral and SEND infrastructure, particularly those who value a broad extracurricular offer and a school that reflects the socio-economic mix of its community.

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