Oakridge Community Primary School

About Oakridge Community Primary School

Oakridge Community Primary School is a small state primary in North Yorkshire, and its headline Key Stage 2 results sit well below the local authority average. In the 2023/24 academic year, just 33% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a North Yorkshire average of 60%. That places the school in the bottom 50 nationally for this metric, ranked 217th out of 223 primary schools in the LA. The picture is mixed when you look at individual subjects: 67% met the expected standard in both reading and maths, but only 33% did so in writing, and no pupils reached the higher standard in writing or in the combined measure. Reading and maths average scores were 102 and 101 respectively, both a touch below the national benchmark of 100. The school is also heavily oversubscribed for its 2025/26 intake, with 10 applications for 8 places and 7 first-preference offers made, suggesting strong local demand despite the academic outcomes.

Ofsted inspected the school in July 2025 and rated it Good across all areas, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and early years provision. This is a notable shift from its previous inspection in 2014, when it was rated Outstanding overall. The current headteacher is Benjamin Russell, and the school has a very small roll of just 31 pupils against a capacity of 42, so class sizes are tiny. Parent feedback is overwhelmingly positive: 100% of the 15 respondents would recommend the school, with 87% strongly agreeing that their child is happy and feels safe. Similarly high proportions strongly agreed that the school has high expectations, supports wider personal development, and offers a good range of clubs and activities including drama, choir and chess. Sports provision includes tennis, athletics, swimming and gymnastics, and the school has facilities such as music rooms, an ICT suite and art studios.

The school offers nursery provision for children from age 3 and has a published admission number of 8 for reception. It is oversubscribed, with a ratio of 1.25 applications per place, so families should be prepared to apply early. Oakridge has identified SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, and speech, language and communication needs, though the Parent View data shows no responses from families of SEND children, so it is difficult to gauge how well these are delivered in practice. The school has no official sixth form and is non-denominational. For parents who prioritise a very small, community-focused setting where children feel safe and happy, and where the headteacher and staff are rated well by Ofsted, Oakridge could be a good fit. However, those focused on academic outcomes at KS2 may want to look at higher-performing peers in the LA, such as Eppleby Forcett or Sacred Heart Catholic Primary.

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