Gosford Park Primary School

About Gosford Park Primary School

Gosford Park Primary School in Coventry is a larger-than-average primary, currently teaching 434 pupils against a stated capacity of 420. This oversubscription is borne out by its admission data for the 2025/26 intake: the school received 97 applications for 42 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.31. Of those applicants, 36 put it as their first preference, and 36 first-preference offers were made. The school serves a community with a notably high level of disadvantage — 31.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. This context matters when interpreting the school's performance data, as schools with higher FSM percentages often face additional challenges. The school is a mixed, non-denominational state primary with nursery provision, and is led by headteacher Joanna Jacobs. It does not have a sixth form, and its most recent Ofsted inspection, in November 2024, resulted in an overall effectiveness rating of 'Not judged', though the previous graded inspection in June 2022 rated it 'Requires improvement' across most categories.

Academically, Gosford Park's Key Stage 2 results for 2023/24 place it in a challenging position relative to other Coventry primaries. Only 43% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with the Coventry local authority average of 58%. This puts the school 72nd out of 80 primary schools in the LA, placing it in the bottom 10% locally and the bottom 12% nationally. In individual subjects, 67% reached the expected standard in reading, 64% in writing, and 48% in maths. The proportion achieving the higher standard was very low: just 2% in reading, writing and maths combined, 12% in reading, 10% in maths, and 2% in writing. Average scaled scores were 102 in reading and 100 in maths. The school's Ofsted breakdown from the 2024 inspection shows that personal development was rated 'Good', but quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management were all rated 'Requires improvement', as was early years provision.

Parent feedback offers a more positive picture, though it comes from a small sample of 28 respondents. 82% would recommend the school, and strong majorities agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy (92%), feels safe (100%), and does well (97%). The school lists a broad range of facilities including a sensory room, art studios, music rooms, a sports hall, playing fields, a library and a gymnasium. Clubs include drama, film club, choir and science club, and sports offered are dance, football, cricket and swimming. SEND provisions cover specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. For families weighing up options, the nearest outstanding-rated primary is Sidney Stringer Primary Academy, 1.4 km away. Gosford Park is clearly a school where parents report high satisfaction with pastoral care and personal development, but where academic outcomes and Ofsted ratings suggest there is significant work to be done on curriculum and behaviour.

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