Peterhouse CofE Primary Academy

About Peterhouse CofE Primary Academy

Peterhouse CofE Primary Academy sits in a challenging spot within Great Yarmouth, and its headline Key Stage 2 results reflect that. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined is 40%, which is notably below the Norfolk local authority average of 52% for primary schools. That gap of 12 percentage points is significant and places the school in the bottom half of all primaries in the county — ranked 206th out of 344. Its ranking within Great Yarmouth itself is even starker: 25th out of 27 schools, putting it in the bottom 10% of its immediate area. So by the most straightforward measure of primary attainment, Peterhouse is performing well below what most local schools achieve. That said, the school’s intake is unusually disadvantaged — 49% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, nearly double the national average — which provides important context for those results.

Looking beyond the headline figure, the individual subject scores tell a slightly more nuanced story. In reading, 57% of pupils met the expected standard and the average scaled score was 102, which is just above the national benchmark of 100. In maths, 55% reached the expected standard with an average score of exactly 100. Writing was the weakest area, with 53% at expected and only 7% working at greater depth. At the higher end, just 2% of pupils achieved the higher standard across all three subjects — a very low figure that underscores how few children are exceeding expectations. The school’s most recent graded Ofsted inspection in 2018 rated it Good overall, with Good for leadership and management. A follow-up ungraded inspection in December 2023 confirmed it remains Good. However, early years provision was judged Requires Improvement in that same 2018 inspection, which is worth noting for parents of younger children.

Peterhouse is a Church of England primary with a nursery for three-year-olds, and it is clearly popular: for 2025/26 entry, it received 96 applications for just 49 places, with 46 first-preference offers made. That oversubscription ratio of 1.96 means demand is nearly double the capacity, and the school already exceeds its official capacity of 420 with 437 pupils on roll. Facilities are decent for a primary — a sports hall, gym, music rooms, ICT suite, sensory room and even a chapel. The SEND provision is unusually broad, covering nine categories including dyslexia, autism, speech and language needs, and physical disabilities, which suggests the school is well set up to support children with additional needs. Clubs include science, gardening, eco, coding and art, and sports range from football and cricket to gymnastics and dance. This is a school that serves a high-needs community and is heavily oversubscribed, but parents should weigh the strong pastoral and SEND offer against the below-average academic outcomes.

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