Glenmead Primary School

About Glenmead Primary School

Glenmead Primary School is a state-funded, mixed primary in the Birmingham local authority, serving 264 pupils aged 4 to 11. Under headteacher Louise Spencer, the school has made a notable turnaround from its previous Ofsted rating of Requires Improvement in 2018 to a solid Good across all categories in its most recent 2022 inspection. In Birmingham’s crowded primary landscape — 292 schools of the same type — Glenmead sits at rank 225, placing it in the bottom half of the authority. For context, the top-performing peers nearby include Little Sutton Primary School, Cromwell Junior and Infant School, and Lift Lea Forest, all of which score significantly higher on the same ranking metric. The nearest school rated Outstanding is Christ The King Catholic Primary School, just 1.6 kilometres away. Glenmead is heavily oversubscribed for its 2025/26 intake, with 120 applications for 30 places and all 25 first-preference applicants offered a spot, suggesting strong local demand despite its middling rank.

Academically, Glenmead’s Key Stage 2 results for 2023/24 show a mixed picture. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined was 48%, well below the Birmingham local authority average of 63%. Individual subject scores tell a more nuanced story: 68% met the expected standard in reading and 70% in writing, but maths lagged at 59%. At the higher standard, just 5% achieved the combined benchmark, with 11% reaching that level in reading and maths, and 20% in writing. Average scaled scores were 102 in both reading and maths, which is in line with the national average of 100. Progress measures are not available in the data, so it is unclear how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points. Nationally, Glenmead ranks in the bottom 18% of primary schools by its combined expected standard metric, and in the bottom 10% within the West Midlands region.

The school offers a range of facilities including a Forest School, library, playing fields, ICT suite and a chapel, alongside sports such as dance, gymnastics, swimming, cricket and tennis. Clubs include Book Club, Science Club and Coding. Glenmead has a broad SEND offer, with provisions for moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication difficulties, visual impairment, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder and other difficulties. With 39.8% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a community with above-average disadvantage. It is not a boarding school and has no nursery provision. Given its oversubscription and recent improvement journey, Glenmead is likely to suit families who value a local, inclusive primary with strong SEND support and a clear upward trajectory, but who are comfortable with academic outcomes that sit below the LA average.

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