Castle Primary School

About Castle Primary School

Castle Primary School in Bath and North East Somerset has been rated Good overall by Ofsted following its October 2023 inspection, a significant improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2017. The inspection report highlights particular strengths in early years provision, which was judged Outstanding, and behaviour and attitudes, also rated Outstanding. Leadership and management, quality of education, and personal development all received Good ratings. However, when it comes to academic outcomes at the end of Key Stage 2, the picture is more mixed. The school’s combined reading, writing and maths expected standard attainment sits at 48%, which is notably below the local authority average of 62%. This places Castle Primary 43rd out of 52 primary schools in Bath and North East Somerset, putting it in the bottom half of the local league table.

Looking at the individual subject scores, 61% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, 59% in maths, and 70% in writing. At the higher standard, the figures are lower: 18% in reading, 9% in maths, and 7% in writing, with just 2% achieving the higher standard across all three subjects. The average scaled scores are 102 for reading and 101 for maths, both slightly above the national baseline of 100. The school does not publish progress scores for reading, writing or maths, so it is not possible to see how much value the school adds compared with pupils nationally. With 25.6% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a community with above-average disadvantage, which may partly explain the gap between its outcomes and the local average.

Castle Primary is a state primary for children aged 2 to 11, with nursery provision on site. It is oversubscribed: for 2025/26, there were 95 applications for 56 places, with 54 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.7. The school offers a range of facilities including a sensory room, music rooms, library, sports hall, forest school, playing fields and a chapel. Sports include netball, swimming, cricket, rounders and dance, while clubs cover coding, drama and science. The school has a broad SEND offer, with provisions for dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language difficulties, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder and other difficulties. This is a school that has clearly improved its leadership and behaviour since its last inspection, but families prioritising strong academic outcomes at KS2 may want to compare its results carefully with other local options.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Castle Primary School

Helpful Guides for Parents