Dove Holes CofE Primary School

About Dove Holes CofE Primary School

Dove Holes CofE Primary School is a small Church of England primary in the High Peak, and the numbers suggest a school that local families are keen to get into. For the 2025/26 intake, it received eight applications for just three places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.67, and all three first-preference families were offered a spot. That level of demand is notable for a school with only 49 pupils on roll, well below its capacity of 84. While there is no official parent survey data to draw on, the oversubscription picture implies a solid local reputation. The school is led by headteacher James Handley and serves children aged 4 to 11. It is a state-funded, mixed-gender primary with a religious character, and its most recent Ofsted inspection in January 2024 rated it Good across the board, including for behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and early years provision. That rating has been consistent since its previous inspection in 2013, which also judged it Good overall.

Academically, the picture is mixed and worth examining closely. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 tests, 38% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That is well below the Derbyshire local authority average of 59% and places the school in the bottom 50 nationally for this metric. However, individual subject results tell a more nuanced story. In writing, 88% of pupils met the expected standard, and in maths it was 75%, both respectable figures. Reading was lower at 63%. The proportion of pupils reaching the higher standard in all three subjects was 13%, and in reading alone it was 38%. Average scaled scores were 103 in maths and 104 in reading, both close to the national benchmark of 100. The school ranks 219th out of 353 primary schools in Derbyshire, and 32nd out of 34 in the High Peak local area, which suggests it is not among the strongest performers locally but has pockets of strength, particularly in writing.

The school offers a decent range of facilities for its size, including a library, sports hall, gymnasium, playing fields, and an ICT suite, plus a chapel reflecting its Church of England foundation. Sports on offer include athletics, netball, cross country and dance, and there are clubs such as book club, drama, science club and choir. For families with children who have additional needs, the school lists SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. With 36.7% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a community with above-average disadvantage. This is a small, oversubscribed village school where demand outstrips supply, so families applying will need to be strategic. It will suit those who value a close-knit, faith-based setting and are comfortable with a school that is strong on writing but has room for improvement in reading and maths compared with the local average.

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