Montgomery Primary School

About Montgomery Primary School

Montgomery Primary School in Exeter was rated Good in its most recent Ofsted inspection in early 2025, with inspectors awarding Good across every graded category including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. The school has held a Good rating consistently, having also achieved it in its previous inspection in 2019. When it comes to the key academic metric for primary schools — the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — Montgomery recorded 54% in the 2023/24 academic year. That figure sits just below the Devon local authority average of 57%, placing the school 141st out of 309 primary schools in the county. Within Exeter specifically, it ranks 12th out of 17 schools on this measure, putting it in the bottom half of the city's primaries. The school's ranking score of 54 places it in the bottom 50% nationally.

Looking deeper into the 2023/24 results, the picture is mixed. Reading is a relative strength: 79% of pupils met the expected standard and 30% achieved the higher standard, with an average scaled score of 106. Maths followed with 71% at expected and an average score of 104, though only 25% reached the higher threshold. Writing proved more challenging, with 57% at expected and just 2% at the higher standard. The combined expected figure of 54% is pulled down by writing, which is the weakest of the three core subjects. The school serves a community with above-average disadvantage: 31.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, significantly higher than the national average. Parent feedback is overwhelmingly positive — 97% of the 122 respondents would recommend the school, and 80% strongly agreed that their child is happy there. Strong majorities also felt the school has high expectations and supports wider personal development.

Montgomery is a larger-than-average primary with 442 pupils against a capacity of 420, and it is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, 84 families put it as their first preference for just 59 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.22. The school offers nursery provision for children from age two and runs a Forest School programme alongside facilities including a library, ICT suite, playing fields and a chapel. Sports on offer include athletics, football, swimming and gymnastics, while clubs range from coding and choir to art and book club. SEND provision is broad, covering autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language needs, hearing impairment, and social, emotional and mental health support. The parent view data shows that 65% of respondents strongly agreed that SEND children receive the support they need. This is a school that suits families who value a strong pastoral environment and broad enrichment over top-tier academic results, and who are comfortable with its position as a solidly Good, community-focused primary in a competitive Exeter admissions market.

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