Gildersome Primary School

About Gildersome Primary School

Gildersome Primary School is a mixed, state-funded primary for children aged 3 to 11 in Leeds, currently home to 380 pupils against a capacity of 446. That leaves some headroom, but the school is clearly in demand: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 110 applications for just 34 places, with 33 of those going to first-preference families. The oversubscription ratio of 3.24 tells you this is a school local families are actively chasing. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals sits at 16.9%, which is a touch above the national primary average of around 23% but worth noting in the context of a Leeds school that draws from a mixed catchment. The school does not have a religious character, so admissions are purely on standard council criteria, and it offers nursery provision for children from age three, which can be a practical bonus for working parents looking for a single-site journey from nursery through to Year 6.

Academically, Gildersome sits in the middle of the pack. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 58% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — slightly below the Leeds local authority average of 61%. That places the school 122nd out of 204 primaries in the city, and in the bottom 50% nationally. Digging into the individual subjects, reading and maths both returned an average scaled score of 105, which is exactly the national benchmark. Maths had 79% of pupils at the expected level, reading 70%, and writing 66%. At the higher standard, 21% hit the higher mark in both reading and maths, while 17% did so in writing. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection, in January 2022, rated it Good across the board — a clear improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2018. Behaviour, personal development, early years provision and leadership were all judged Good.

The school offers a solid range of facilities, including a sensory room, music rooms, an ICT suite, a forest school area, a sports hall and even a chapel. Sports provision covers football, cricket, gymnastics, swimming, athletics, tennis and netball, while clubs include art, coding, film, chess, gardening and choir. For families with children who have additional needs, the SEND register is broad: the school supports pupils with specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, speech and language needs, visual impairment, physical disabilities, social and emotional mental health needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. If you are comparing options, the nearest Outstanding-rated primary is Morley Victoria, 1.7 km away. Gildersome is a solid, well-subscribed local school that has turned around its Ofsted rating and offers genuine breadth in enrichment and support, making it a realistic choice for families who want a community primary with good facilities and a clear focus on behaviour and personal development.

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