Coleham Primary School

About Coleham Primary School

Coleham Primary School is a state-funded mixed primary in Shropshire that is currently running above its official capacity, with 429 pupils on roll against a capacity of 420. That slight oversubscription is backed up by the admission data for the 2025/26 intake: the school received 217 applications for just 60 places, with 89 of those coming as first preferences, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.62. Only 58 first-preference offers were made, so demand clearly outstrips supply. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 8.4%, which is notably lower than the national average for primary schools, suggesting a relatively advantaged intake. The school has no religious character and no nursery provision, so children join in Year 1 or Reception. Headteacher Tom Larkham leads a school that has clearly built a strong local reputation, and the numbers suggest families are keen to secure a place here.

Academically, Coleham has just been rated Outstanding across the board in its most recent Ofsted inspection, carried out in March 2024. This is a significant upgrade from its previous Good rating in 2013, with inspectors awarding top marks for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. At Key Stage 2, 66% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is above the Shropshire local authority average of 59%. The school also performs well at the higher standard, with 13% of pupils achieving that level across all three subjects. Average scores were 108 in reading and 105 in maths, both above the national average. In the Shropshire rankings, Coleham sits 31st out of 88 primary schools, placing it in the top 35% locally and the top 41% nationally.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a gymnasium, sports hall, ICT suite, art studios, forest school area and a sensory room, which supports its SEND provision for pupils with moderate learning difficulties, speech and language needs, social and emotional challenges, and physical disabilities. Clubs include coding, drama, science club, gardening, film club and choir, while sports on offer are netball, athletics, swimming, dance and gymnastics. The school is heavily oversubscribed, so families considering it will need to apply early and likely as a first preference. It suits families who want a high-performing, well-resourced state primary with strong Ofsted credentials and a broad extracurricular offer, but who are comfortable with a larger-than-average school that is already over capacity.

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