Chandlers Ridge Academy

About Chandlers Ridge Academy

Chandlers Ridge Academy, a state primary in Middlesbrough, was rated Good in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022, a significant improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2016. The school now holds Good across all five inspected categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The most telling academic metric is the Key Stage 2 combined expected standard in reading, writing and maths, where 75% of pupils met the benchmark in the 2023/24 academic year. That is well above the Middlesbrough local authority average of 62%, placing the school 9th out of 37 primaries in the area and in the top 25% nationally. This strong showing suggests a school that has turned around its performance and is now delivering solid, above-average outcomes for its pupils.

Digging deeper into the 2023/24 KS2 results, the school’s strengths are particularly clear in reading and maths. 96% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, with an average scaled score of 109, and 90% did so in maths, with an average score of 108. Writing is a relative weak spot, with 77% at the expected level, though still above the LA average. At the higher standard, 46% of pupils achieved in reading, 38% in writing, and 35% in maths, while 25% hit the higher threshold across all three subjects. The school does not publish Progress 8 scores, so it is not possible to measure how much value it adds relative to pupils’ starting points, but the raw attainment figures are consistently above local norms. For context, the nearest Outstanding-rated primary is Brambles Primary Academy, 4.6 km away, and only two primaries in the entire LA hold that top grade.

The school is oversubscribed: for 2025/26, it received 101 applications for 45 places, with 42 first-preference offers, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.24. That reflects its local reputation. Facilities include a sports hall, music rooms, a sensory room, and a dining hall, and the school offers a range of sports from rounders to dance, plus clubs like coding, chess, and gardening. SEND provision is broad, covering specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health, speech and language needs, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. With a nursery on site and a below-average free school meals rate of 10.6%, Chandlers Ridge serves a relatively advantaged catchment. It is a good fit for families who prioritise strong core academic results, particularly in reading and maths, and want a school that has demonstrably improved under its current leadership.

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