Edward the Elder Primary School

About Edward the Elder Primary School

Edward the Elder Primary School in Wolverhampton is a mixed state primary for children aged 3 to 11, currently home to 243 pupils against a capacity of 262. That leaves a little breathing room, but demand tells a different story: for the 2025/26 intake, the school received 74 applications for just 30 places, with 35 of those as first preferences. That works out at 2.47 applications per place, a clear signal that local families are keen to get in. The school serves a community with a high level of disadvantage — 53.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. Despite that, the school has held a Good rating from Ofsted since its most recent graded inspection, and its ungraded inspection in February 2025 confirmed that standards are being maintained. Headteacher Bridget Highman leads a school where parents are overwhelmingly positive: 96% would recommend it, and in the Parent View survey, 75% strongly agreed their child is happy here.

Academically, Edward the Elder performs well above the local authority average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 77% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared to a Wolverhampton average of just 64%. That puts the school 10th out of 60 primaries in the local authority, comfortably in the top 25% nationally. Reading and maths scores are strong — an average scaled score of 109 in reading and 108 in maths — and the proportion hitting the higher standard is respectable too, at 32% in both subjects. Writing is a relative weak spot, with only 16% reaching the higher standard, but 77% met the expected level. The school’s ranking score of 77 places it 11th in Wolverhampton overall, just behind top performers like St Bartholomew’s C of E Primary and Oak Meadow Primary. For a school with such a high FSM intake, these results are notable.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a library, ICT suite, music rooms, a forest school, sports hall and playing fields, plus a chapel. Sports on offer include swimming, athletics, tennis, netball, cricket and dance, while clubs cover drama, choir, science and eco. SEND provision is broad, covering moderate learning difficulty, speech and language needs, hearing and multi-sensory impairment, autistic spectrum disorder and social, emotional and mental health support — though the Parent View data on SEND support is too sparse to draw conclusions. The school has nursery provision, making it a natural choice for families looking for continuity from age 3. With oversubscription running at nearly 2.5 to one, it’s a school that demands a first preference application. It will suit families who value strong academic outcomes in a diverse, inclusive setting, and who are comfortable with a larger-than-average primary that has a clear sense of purpose.

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