Giggleswick Primary School

About Giggleswick Primary School

Giggleswick Primary School was rated Good in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024, a rating it has held consistently across both its recent inspections. The school’s strongest academic metric comes from its Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 academic year, where 71% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That figure sits comfortably above the North Yorkshire local authority average of 60%, placing Giggleswick in the top 25% of primary schools in the region. Within the county, it ranks 53rd out of 223 schools, and nationally it sits in the 29th percentile. The school’s ranking score of 71 reflects solid, above-average performance, particularly notable given its small size of just 75 pupils. The Ofsted breakdown shows Good ratings across all categories, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, with early years provision also rated Good.

Digging deeper into the exam data, writing stands out as a particular strength: 100% of pupils reached the expected standard in writing, and 57% achieved the higher standard — a notably strong result. In reading, 71% met the expected level and 14% reached the higher standard, while in maths 86% met the expected standard and 29% achieved the higher score. The average scaled scores for both reading and maths sit at 106, which is above the national benchmark of 100. The school does not publish progress scores for reading, writing or maths, so it is not possible to measure how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points. However, the combination of high expected standards and a strong higher-standard rate in writing suggests effective teaching in that subject. The school’s small cohort size means these percentages represent a handful of children, so individual pupil performance can have a disproportionate impact on the overall figures.

Giggleswick is a state primary school for mixed pupils aged 4 to 11, with no nursery or sixth form provision. It is heavily oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 academic year, there were 33 applications for just 8 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of over 4 to 1. All 8 first-preference applicants were offered a place, but competition is fierce. The school has capacity for 90 pupils but currently enrols 75, so there is some physical space, but demand clearly outstrips supply. Facilities include an outdoor playground, library, playing fields, dining hall, sensory room and a chapel. Sports on offer include football, cricket, tennis and rounders, while clubs range from coding and art to film, gardening and chess. The school supports pupils with specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, and social, emotional and mental health needs. With just 8% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a relatively affluent catchment. This is a small, community-focused village school that delivers strong academic outcomes, particularly in writing, and is clearly popular with local families.

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