Grange Primary School

About Grange Primary School

Parents considering Grange Primary School will find a school that local families clearly want to get into. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 101 applications for just 43 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.35. Of those applications, 41 were first-preference choices, and 41 first-preference offers were made, meaning every family who put Grange first secured a spot. That level of demand suggests a strong local reputation. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection, carried out in March 2023, rated it Good overall, with Good marks across every category including behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership. This is a notable improvement from its previous inspection in 2019, when it was rated Requires Improvement. The early years provision also moved up from a Requires Improvement to Good, so the school has clearly been on an upward trajectory under headteacher Maggie Elfenich.

Academically, Grange Primary produces solid, if not spectacular, results at Key Stage 2. In the 2023/24 assessments, 61% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is very close to the Essex local authority average of 62%. The school’s ranking within Basildon places it 21st out of 39 primary schools, putting it in the bottom half locally, though nationally it sits around the 55th percentile. Looking at individual subjects, the school performs better in writing, where 83% of pupils reached the expected standard and 24% achieved a higher standard, compared with reading (67% expected, 28% higher) and maths (80% expected, 20% higher). Average scaled scores in reading and maths both sit at 105, which is in line with the national average. There is no progress score data available, so it is hard to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points.

The school offers a decent range of facilities for a primary of its size, including a library, ICT suite, art studios, music rooms, a sensory room, and a forest school area. Sports provision covers dance, cricket, football and tennis, and there are clubs running for book club, chess, science, coding, choir and gardening. For families with children who have additional needs, Grange lists SEND support for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. The school is not oversubscribed to the point of being impossible to get into, but with a 2.35 ratio, it is competitive. It is a state primary with no religious character, no nursery provision, and no sixth form. It would suit families in Basildon looking for a well-regarded local option that has improved its Ofsted rating and offers a broad set of enrichment activities.

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