Lift Plumberow

About Lift Plumberow

Lift Plumberow’s headline metrics sit comfortably above the Essex local authority average for primary schools. While the LA average for pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined sits at 62 per cent, Lift Plumberow achieves 77 per cent — a clear 15-point advantage. That gap is consistent across individual subjects too: 80 per cent of pupils meet the expected standard in reading (against a likely lower LA average), 87 per cent in maths, and 91 per cent in writing. The school also pushes a notable proportion of pupils into the higher standard, with 41 per cent reaching that level in reading, 39 per cent in writing and 36 per cent in maths. In the Rochford district, this performance places the school 9th out of 19 primaries, and it ranks in the top 25 per cent nationally for the combined expected standard metric. The school’s Ofsted rating of Good was reaffirmed in an ungraded inspection in January 2024, with leadership and management also judged Good.

Looking closer at the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, the average scaled scores back up the picture of solid, above-average attainment. Pupils scored an average of 107 in reading and 106 in maths, both comfortably above the national benchmark of 100. The school’s Progress 8 data is not available in the published figures, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points, but the raw outcomes are strong. In the East of England region, Lift Plumberow ranks 193rd out of 1,612 primaries, placing it in the top 12 per cent regionally. Nationally, it sits 2,050th out of 13,686 schools — roughly the top 15 per cent. The school’s ranking score of 77 reflects its combined expected standard performance, and it sits 66th out of 444 primaries in Essex, putting it well within the top quarter of the county.

Lift Plumberow is a large primary with 627 pupils, operating very close to its capacity of 650. It is oversubscribed: for 86 places in the 2025/26 intake, the school received 190 applications, with 74 first-preference offers made — an oversubscription ratio of 2.21 applicants per place. The school serves a relatively affluent catchment, with only 6.5 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals. Facilities include a library, dining hall, outdoor playground and a Forest School, and the sports offer covers swimming, cricket, cross country and rounders. A range of clubs — science, drama, film, chess and art — runs alongside the curriculum. The school’s SEND provision is broad, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, speech and language needs, social and emotional mental health needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. For families seeking a high-performing, oversubscribed state primary in Rochford with strong academic outcomes and a wide enrichment offer, Lift Plumberow is a compelling choice.

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