Great Doddington Primary

About Great Doddington Primary

Great Doddington Primary sits in a tricky spot when you compare its headline metrics against the North Northamptonshire average for primary schools. The local authority average for pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2 is 61 per cent; at Great Doddington, that figure is just 21 per cent. That is a significant gap, and it places the school at rank 90 out of 90 primaries in the LA, putting it in the bottom 50 nationally for this measure. The school is small, with 121 pupils against a capacity of 157, and only 8.3 per cent of children are eligible for free school meals, which is below the national average. So while the raw attainment numbers are low, the context of a small, relatively less deprived intake makes the results stand out even more. Parents considering this school will want to look closely at what lies behind those figures, especially since the school has recently undergone a notable change in its Ofsted rating.

The most recent Ofsted inspection, in April 2025, saw the school jump from a Requires Improvement rating to Good across the board, with personal development rated Outstanding. That is a big shift from the previous inspection in January 2023, where every category was graded 3. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, the picture is mixed: 74 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in reading, which is decent, but only 42 per cent did so in maths and just 37 per cent in writing. No pupils reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths combined. Average scores were 103 in reading and 100 in maths, both around the national average. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it is hard to say whether pupils are making the gains you would hope for from their starting points. The school ranks bottom in the LA and in the 98th percentile nationally, meaning almost every other primary in the country outperforms it on this specific measure.

On the ground, Great Doddington Primary has a lot going for it that the headline numbers do not capture. The school offers a library, sports hall, playing fields, music rooms and even a chapel, plus clubs like gardening, film club and drama, and sports including cricket, dance, football and rounders. Parent View responses from 37 families are overwhelmingly positive: 94 per cent said their child is happy, 100 per cent feel safe, and 89 per cent agreed their child does well. However, there are some areas of concern: 26 per cent of parents disagreed that concerns are dealt with properly, and 27 per cent disagreed that the school gives SEND children the support they need, despite the school listing provisions for dyslexia, speech and language needs, hearing and visual impairments, and physical disabilities. The school is oversubscribed, with 27 applications for 14 places in 2025/26, and 11 first-preference offers made. It is a Good-rated village primary with strong personal development and happy families, but the academic outcomes are a clear weak spot that any parent would want to investigate further.

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