Northbury Primary School

About Northbury Primary School

Northbury Primary School sits in the middle of the pack academically when compared with other primary schools in Barking and Dagenham. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 60% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — slightly below the local authority average of 65%. That places the school 26th out of 39 primaries in the borough, putting it in the bottom half of local schools. Nationally, it ranks in the 57th percentile, meaning it performs roughly in line with the median primary school across England. The gap is modest, but it does suggest that while Northbury is a solid choice for many families, it isn't one of the higher-performing schools in the area. The school's most recent Ofsted inspection, an ungraded visit in 2022, confirmed it remains Good — a rating it has held consistently since at least its previous graded inspection in 2016.

Looking more closely at the individual subject scores, the picture is mixed. In maths, 70% of pupils hit the expected standard, with an average score of 104, and 22% reached the higher standard. Reading was similar: 70% at expected, an average score of 103, and 23% at the higher level. Writing saw 80% of pupils meet the expected standard, but only 13% achieved greater depth — a noticeably lower proportion than in maths or reading. The school's strongest area appears to be writing at the expected level, while its weakest is the combined measure of all three subjects, which drags the headline figure below the LA average. Progress scores for reading, writing and maths are not available in the data, so it's hard to say whether pupils are making above- or below-average gains from their starting points. The school does not have a sixth form, as it is a primary.

Northbury is a large school, with 853 pupils on roll against a capacity of 918, and it is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 223 applications for 119 places, with 111 offers made to first-preference families. That gives an oversubscription ratio of 1.87, so it's a popular choice locally. The school has a nursery provision, taking children from age three, and offers a range of facilities including a sports hall, gymnasium, art studios, playing fields and even a chapel. Clubs include coding, choir, gardening, film club and book club, and sports on offer are football, tennis, rounders and cricket. For SEND, the school supports pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication difficulties, and autistic spectrum disorder. This is a school that suits families looking for a well-equipped, community-focused primary with good but not outstanding results, and where getting a place requires a first-preference application.

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