Franciscan Primary School

About Franciscan Primary School

Franciscan Primary School in Wandsworth sits at the bottom of the local authority league table for primary schools, ranking 55th out of 55. Its headline Key Stage 2 metric — the percentage of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths — stands at just 34%, which is half the Wandsworth LA average of 68%. That gap is stark and worth noting if academic attainment is your priority. The school’s ranking score of 34 places it in the bottom 50 nationally, and its London percentile of 98.8 means only a tiny fraction of schools in the capital perform lower. For context, the top-performing local primaries — Sheringdale, Ronald Ross and Rutherford House — all score in the high 80s or 90s. Franciscan is clearly an outlier in its borough, and this contrast is the single most important fact about its academic profile.

Digging into the individual subject scores, the picture is mixed. In reading, 55% of pupils met the expected standard and 7% reached a higher standard, with an average score of 101 — close to the national benchmark of 100. Writing fared slightly better, with 59% reaching expectation, though no pupils hit the higher standard. Maths was weaker: 38% met the expected standard, with an average score of 98, and again no higher-standard results. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it’s hard to say whether pupils are improving relative to their starting points. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in March 2024 rated it Good across all five categories — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. That’s a solid outcome, and it has held a Good rating since at least its previous inspection in 2012.

Franciscan is a two-form entry primary with nursery provision for children from age 2, and it is significantly undersubscribed relative to capacity — 270 pupils against a capacity of 520. Despite that, it was oversubscribed for 2025/26 entry, with 78 applications for 30 places and 21 first-preference offers, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.6. Nearly half of pupils (46.7%) are eligible for free school meals, which is well above the national average and suggests a high level of disadvantage. The school offers a broad range of clubs including gardening, coding, drama, choir and film club, plus sports such as football, cricket, athletics and tennis. Facilities include art studios, a sports hall, playing fields, an ICT suite and a chapel. SEND provision covers moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health, speech and language, physical disability and other needs. This is a school that serves a diverse, high-need community and has maintained a Good Ofsted rating — but its academic outcomes are well below the local norm, so it will suit families who value inclusion and pastoral support over headline results.

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