Exeter A Learning Community Academy

About Exeter A Learning Community Academy

Exeter A Learning Community Academy has been rated Good overall by Ofsted following its most recent inspection in 2023, a significant improvement from its previous Inadequate rating in 2016. The inspection report awarded the school Good marks for quality of education, personal development, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management, while the early years provision was singled out as Outstanding. When it comes to academic outcomes at Key Stage 2, the school’s performance is a more mixed picture. Just 34% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is well below the North Northamptonshire local authority average of 61%. This places the school in the bottom 50 nationally for this metric, ranking 85th out of 90 primary schools in the local authority. Individual subject scores show 51% of pupils met the expected standard in reading and 48% in writing, while maths was lower at 41%. The average scaled scores were 101 in reading and 98 in maths.

The school’s progress scores for reading, writing and maths are not available in the data, so it is difficult to say how much value the school adds compared with pupils starting from similar baselines. However, the proportion of pupils reaching the higher standard in reading was 19%, and 9% in maths, with no pupils achieving the higher standard in writing or the combined reading, writing and maths measure. These figures suggest that while the school is providing a solid Good education according to Ofsted, academic attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 is an area where many pupils are not yet reaching national expectations. The school serves a community with a high level of disadvantage, with 38% of pupils eligible for free school meals, which is well above the national average and likely a factor in the attainment picture. For parents focused on academic outcomes, it is worth noting that the school’s ranking within the local authority is low, and the top-performing peers in the area, such as Gretton Primary Academy and Stanion Church of England Primary, achieve significantly higher scores.

Exeter A Learning Community Academy is a larger-than-average primary school with capacity for 840 pupils but currently has 479 on roll, so there is room for growth. It is oversubscribed for the 2025/26 academic year, with 29 first-preference applications for 29 places and 43 total applications, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.48. The school offers a nursery provision for children aged two and above, and its facilities include a sports hall, playing fields, art studios, an ICT suite, music rooms, a library, a sensory room and an outdoor playground. Sports on offer include football, athletics, netball, cross country, dance, gymnastics and swimming, while clubs range from choir and drama to eco club and science club. The school has a strong focus on inclusion, with SEND provisions covering moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability and other difficulties. This combination of facilities, nursery provision and broad SEND support makes the school a practical choice for families who value a supportive environment and a wide range of extracurricular activities, particularly those with younger children or children with additional needs.

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