New Bewerley Community School

About New Bewerley Community School

New Bewerley Community School in Leeds serves 378 pupils aged 4 to 11, and its headline academic metrics sit well below the local authority average for primary schools. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, just 36% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a Leeds average of 61%. That gap of 25 percentage points is significant and places the school 195th out of 204 primary schools in the authority, putting it in the bottom 5% locally. The school also ranks in the bottom 6% nationally. While the maths average score of 99 and reading average of 101 are close to the national benchmark of 100, the proportion of pupils reaching the higher standard in any subject is very low — 8% in reading, 5% in maths and 0% in writing. These figures suggest that while a core of pupils achieve the expected level, very few are exceeding it.

The school's most recent Ofsted inspection, in September 2023, rated its overall effectiveness as Requires Improvement, a downgrade from the Good rating it received in 2018. However, the breakdown tells a more nuanced story: behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management were all judged Good, and early years provision was also rated Good. The area dragging the overall rating down is the quality of education, which was judged to require improvement. This pattern — strong on pastoral and leadership elements but weaker on academic delivery — is consistent with the KS2 results. The school has a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 45.2%, well above the national average, and it provides a resourced provision for pupils with special educational needs, covering areas including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language needs, and social and emotional mental health.

New Bewerley is a popular school in its catchment: for 2025/26 admissions, it received 94 applications for 34 places, with 34 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.76. That level of demand suggests local families value what the school offers despite the academic challenges. Facilities include a library, playing fields, gymnasium, music rooms, sensory room, ICT suite, sports hall and even a chapel. Sports on offer include swimming, athletics, gymnastics, football and cross country, and clubs range from book club and drama to eco club, choir and chess. For families whose children have additional needs, the school's broad SEND provision — including a resourced provision — is a notable strength. This is a school that suits parents who prioritise a supportive, inclusive environment over top-tier academic results, and who are comfortable with the school being in a period of improvement under headteacher Juli Aldwinkle.

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