Mulberry Canon Barnett Primary Academy

About Mulberry Canon Barnett Primary Academy

Mulberry Canon Barnett Primary Academy is a small state primary in Tower Hamlets that parents clearly want to get into. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 25 applications for just 15 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.67. All 15 first-preference applicants were offered a spot, meaning the school is popular but not impossibly competitive for those who list it first. The school has a Good rating from Ofsted, a grade it has held across both its most recent inspections. In its 2018 ungraded inspection, inspectors confirmed the school remains Good, and notably rated leadership and management as Outstanding. The school is led by headteacher Anita Croft and serves 166 pupils against a capacity of 315, so there is room to grow. With 45.2 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals, it serves a community with above-average disadvantage.

Academically, the school's Key Stage 2 results for 2023/24 show a mixed picture. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined was 45 per cent, which is well below the Tower Hamlets local authority average of 71 per cent. This places the school 58th out of 58 primary schools in the borough, in the bottom 50 nationally. However, individual subject scores tell a more nuanced story: 82 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in maths, and 68 per cent did so in reading, with average scaled scores of 102 in both subjects. Writing was the weakest area, with only 50 per cent reaching the expected level. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher standard was low across all three subjects, at just 5 per cent each. The school does not publish Progress 8 scores for primary, so it is hard to say how much value it adds relative to intake.

The school offers a range of facilities including a sensory room, forest school, outdoor playground, playing fields, gymnasium and even a chapel. Sports provision is strong, with swimming, tennis, netball, cricket, athletics, rounders and dance on offer. Clubs include eco club, coding, book club and art club. The school has nursery provision and supports pupils with severe learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. For families considering alternatives, the nearest Outstanding-rated school is Thomas Buxton Primary School, 0.8 km away. Mulberry Canon Barnett is a good fit for families who value a small, inclusive community school with strong leadership and a broad extracurricular offer, and who are comfortable with academic results that are below the local average.

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