College Road Primary School

About College Road Primary School

College Road Primary School sits in the bottom half of Plymouth's primary schools when it comes to the key headline metric of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2. The school's figure of 50% is notably below the local authority average of 63%, a gap of 13 percentage points. This places the school 54th out of 69 primaries in Plymouth, and in the bottom 50% nationally. The picture is more mixed when you look at individual subjects. While 79% of pupils met the expected standard in maths — a solid result — only 54% did so in writing, and 75% in reading. At the higher standard, the school's performance is very thin: 14% of pupils reached the higher standard in maths, 7% in reading, and none at all in writing or the combined measure. These figures suggest a school where core literacy, particularly writing, is a significant challenge relative to its peers.

The school's most recent graded Ofsted inspection, back in 2014, rated it Good overall, with Good marks for leadership and management and early years provision. An ungraded inspection in December 2023 confirmed that the school remains Good, though no detailed breakdown of current classroom quality was published. The headteacher, Carina Francis-McLeod, leads a small school of 202 pupils, very close to its capacity of 210. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is 18.8%, slightly above the national average, which may partly contextualise the attainment gap. The school has a range of SEND provisions in place, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language needs, and hearing impairment. This suggests the school is equipped to support a broad spectrum of additional needs, though the absence of published Progress 8 scores makes it hard to judge how much value the school adds relative to its intake.

College Road Primary is oversubscribed: for 2025/26, it received 64 applications for 30 places, with 27 first-preference offers made. That oversubscription ratio of 2.21 to 1 indicates genuine local demand, despite the middling results. Facilities include a gymnasium, ICT suite, playing fields, library, dining hall and even a chapel — unusual for a non-religious community school. Sports provision is broad, with tennis, athletics, netball, dance, gymnastics, rounders and football on offer, plus clubs for book, art and coding. The nearest Outstanding-rated primary is Mayflower Academy, 1.4 km away, which may be a consideration for families prioritising top-tier Ofsted grades. This school will suit families who value a well-resourced, inclusive local primary with strong SEND support and a full sports programme, but who are comfortable with below-average academic outcomes at the end of Key Stage 2.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About College Road Primary School

Helpful Guides for Parents