Fonthill Primary Academy

About Fonthill Primary Academy

Fonthill Primary Academy was rated Good in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022, a rating it has held consistently across both its graded inspections. The school’s key academic measure is the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at the end of Key Stage 2, which stands at 38%. That figure is well below the Bristol local authority average of 58%, placing Fonthill 79th out of 85 primary schools in the city and in the bottom 50% nationally. Digging into the individual subjects, 59% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, 55% in writing and 55% in maths. At the higher standard, the picture is more mixed: 21% achieved higher in maths, 10% in reading, and none in writing. The school’s average scaled scores were 103 in maths and 102 in reading, both just above the national baseline of 100.

The Ofsted report from September 2022 awarded Good across every category: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Inspectors noted that the school’s previous inspection in 2014 had also rated it Good overall, so there is a pattern of solid, if not outstanding, performance. The school has a relatively high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 36.7%, which is significantly above the national average and may partly explain the lower headline attainment figures. Fonthill’s Progress 8 scores for reading, writing and maths are not available in the data, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points. The school does not have a sixth form, as it is a primary, and it offers nursery provision for children from age three.

Fonthill Primary Academy is a mixed, non-religious state school in Bristol with 226 pupils on roll against a capacity of 252, so there is some spare capacity. However, for the 2025/26 academic year, the school received 44 applications for 29 places and was oversubscribed, with 21 first-preference offers made. The school’s facilities include a Forest School, music rooms, art studios, an ICT suite, a sports hall, an outdoor playground, playing fields and a chapel. Sports offered include dance, swimming, athletics, netball and cross country, while clubs range from drama and choir to film club, chess and coding. The school has a broad range of SEND provisions, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing impairment, autistic spectrum disorder and other difficulties. This makes it a potentially strong fit for families whose children need additional support, though the below-average KS2 results mean parents focused on academic outcomes at the top end may want to look at higher-performing local options such as Bishop Road Primary School, 2.9 km away.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Fonthill Primary Academy

Helpful Guides for Parents