Cottesmore Academy

About Cottesmore Academy

Cottesmore Academy, a state primary in Rutland, serves just 135 pupils against a capacity of 360, and its headline Key Stage 2 results sit noticeably below the local authority average. The school’s proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined is 45%, compared with a Rutland average of 70% — a gap of 25 percentage points. This places the school 16th out of 17 primaries in the county, in the bottom 50% nationally. However, the picture is more mixed when you look at individual subjects. Reading scores are a relative strength: 79% of pupils met the expected standard, and 31% achieved a higher (greater depth) score, with an average scaled score of 105. Maths is weaker, with 62% at the expected level and only 10% reaching the higher threshold. The school’s overall Ofsted rating is Good, a significant improvement from its previous Requires Improvement judgement in 2018, with all inspected categories — including quality of education, behaviour and leadership — now rated Good.

The 2023/24 exam data reveals a school where attainment is uneven. While reading outcomes are broadly in line with national expectations, maths and writing lag behind: 72% of pupils reached the expected standard in writing, and just 7% achieved the higher standard. The combined expected standard figure of 45% is the metric that drives the school’s low ranking, and it suggests that many children who do well in reading are not carrying that success across all three core subjects. Progress scores for reading, writing and maths are not available in the data, so it is difficult to say whether pupils are improving at a typical rate. The school’s Ofsted report from May 2022 noted that early years provision, personal development, and behaviour and attitudes are all Good, and the leadership team under headteacher Megan Lucas has clearly turned things around since the Requires Improvement rating of 2018.

Cottesmore Academy is a small, non-denominational school with a range of facilities including playing fields, a library, gymnasium, sports hall, forest school and a chapel. It offers clubs such as drama, choir, eco club, film club, gardening and book club, and sports include athletics, rounders, cricket and football. The school has identified SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional needs, speech and language needs, autistic spectrum disorder and other difficulties. Admissions data for 2025/26 shows the school is oversubscribed: 20 first-preference applications were made for 20 places, with 25 total applications, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.25. With only 3% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the intake is relatively affluent. This school will suit families who value a small, improving primary with strong reading outcomes and a broad range of extracurricular activities, but who are aware that its overall academic performance is below the local average.

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