New Christ Church Church of England Primary School

About New Christ Church Church of England Primary School

New Christ Church Church of England Primary School is a state primary in Reading, a local authority where five out of 40 primary schools currently hold an Outstanding Ofsted rating. The school itself ranks 29th out of 38 primaries in the borough on the key stage 2 expected standard measure, placing it in the bottom half of local schools. Its closest Outstanding-rated peer is All Saints Junior School, 1.6 kilometres away, while the top three performers in the LA are All Saints Junior School, Redlands Primary School and Alfred Sutton Primary School. With 190 pupils on roll against a capacity of 210, the school is smaller than many in the area, and its Church of England designation gives it a distinct character within Reading’s primary landscape. Headteacher Alison Crooks leads a mixed-gender, non-selective school that serves children from age four to 11.

In its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022, the school was rated Good across every category — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — matching its previous Good rating from 2015. At key stage 2, 52 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is below the Reading local authority average of 61 per cent. However, the school performs notably better in individual subjects: 81 per cent met the expected standard in reading, 70 per cent in maths and 56 per cent in writing. Higher-standard attainment is strongest in reading, where 56 per cent of pupils scored at the higher level, compared with 41 per cent in maths and just seven per cent in both writing and the combined measure. Average scaled scores were 109 in reading and 108 in maths, both slightly above the national benchmark of 100.

The school offers a range of facilities including playing fields, a sports hall, a forest school area, a chapel and a dining hall, and pupils can take part in cricket, tennis, netball and swimming. Clubs include art, coding and film club. For children with additional needs, the school lists SEND provisions covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Admissions for the 2025/26 intake were oversubscribed: 60 applications were received for 17 places, with all 17 first-preference applicants offered a spot, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.53. This suggests strong local demand, particularly from families who value the school’s inclusive SEND support, its forest school and its Church of England foundation, though the below-average combined KS2 results may give pause to those prioritising academic league table performance.

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