Longlands Primary School

About Longlands Primary School

Longlands Primary School in Bexley is a popular choice among local families, with 135 applications chasing just 41 places for the 2025/26 intake, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.29. That means more than three families applied for every available spot, and all 35 first-preference applicants were offered a place. While the school doesn't publish a formal parent satisfaction survey, this level of demand speaks volumes about its reputation in the community. The school is a state-funded, mixed primary for children aged 5 to 11, with no religious character and no nursery provision. It currently has 303 pupils on roll, just shy of its 315 capacity, and 13.2 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is slightly below the national average. The headteacher is Tom Baines, who leads a school that has clearly built strong local trust.

Academically, Longlands presents a mixed picture. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 42 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is well below the Bexley local authority average of 67 per cent. The school ranks 52nd out of 55 primary schools in the borough on this measure, placing it in the bottom half nationally. However, individual subject scores tell a more nuanced story: average reading and maths scores were 103 and 101 respectively, and 62 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in reading, with 60 per cent doing so in maths. Writing was weaker, at 53 per cent. The school's most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024 rated it Good overall, with leadership and management also Good, and early years provision was judged Outstanding. This is a significant improvement from its 2013 inspection, when it was rated Requires Improvement.

Longlands offers a solid range of facilities for a primary school, including a sports hall, gymnasium, playing fields, music rooms, an ICT suite and a forest school. There are also clubs like gardening, science, eco, drama, choir and film club, plus sports including cricket, rounders, tennis and dance. The school has specific SEND provision for dyslexia, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication difficulties, and hearing impairment. For families considering alternatives, the nearest Outstanding-rated primary is Dulverton Primary School, just 0.9 km away. Longlands is best suited to families who value a school that has shown clear improvement over time, with strong early years provision and a broad extracurricular offer, even if its core academic results are below the local average.

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