Coalbrookdale and Ironbridge CofE Primary School

About Coalbrookdale and Ironbridge CofE Primary School

Coalbrookdale and Ironbridge CofE Primary School was rated Requires Improvement in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, a significant drop from its previous Outstanding rating in 2011. The inspection found that quality of education, personal development, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management all require improvement, with early years provision also rated Requires Improvement. On the academic front, the school's most telling metric is the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which stood at 53% in the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results. That figure is ten percentage points below the Telford and Wrekin local authority average of 63%, placing the school 30th out of 40 primary schools in the area and in the bottom half nationally. While the school's reading and maths expected rates both hit 72%, writing lagged at 56%, and no pupils achieved the higher standard in either writing or the combined measure.

The school's average scaled scores tell a slightly more positive story: reading averaged 104 and maths 102, both above the national baseline of 100. However, progress scores are not available in the data, so it is difficult to assess how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. In the local authority, only eight of 56 primary schools hold an Outstanding rating, and the nearest such school, William Reynolds Primary School and Nursery, is 1.7 kilometres away. For parents weighing options, the school's current Ofsted rating and below-average combined attainment are the headline figures, though the individual subject results show pockets of stronger performance, particularly in reading.

The school is oversubscribed for the 2025/26 academic year, with 33 applications for 18 places and 17 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.83. Facilities include an ICT suite, art studios, music rooms, a gymnasium, playing fields, a chapel, and a dining hall. Sports on offer range from tennis and swimming to cross country and athletics, and clubs include gardening, art, science and book club. The school provides for a wide range of special educational needs, including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. With 11.8% of pupils eligible for free school meals and a total roll of 161 against a capacity of 218, there is some spare capacity, but demand from first-preference families remains strong. This school may suit families who value its Church of England character and broad facilities, but who are comfortable with a school that is currently in an improvement journey.

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