Pilgrims' Cross CofE Aided Primary School

About Pilgrims' Cross CofE Aided Primary School

Pilgrims' Cross CofE Aided Primary School in Test Valley received a Requires Improvement rating from Ofsted in its most recent graded inspection in November 2023, a rating it has held across both its recent inspections. The school's academic story is best told through its Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 academic year, where just 44% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. This is significantly below the Hampshire local authority average of 61%, placing the school in the bottom half of primary schools nationally. Breaking that down, reading was the strongest core subject with 72% reaching the expected standard, followed by maths at 66% and writing at 60%. Only 14% of pupils achieved the higher standard in reading, 12% in maths, and none in writing. The school ranks 32nd out of 40 primary schools in Test Valley on this combined measure, putting it in the bottom 50% of schools in the area.

Ofsted's breakdown reveals a mixed picture beneath the overall Requires Improvement grade. Leadership and management, along with quality of education, were both judged Requires Improvement, while behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and early years provision were all rated Good. The school has 375 pupils on roll against a capacity of 420, and 22.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, slightly above the national average. The school's Progress 8 scores for individual subjects are not available in the data, so it is difficult to assess how much value the school adds beyond raw attainment. Compared with its previous inspection in January 2020, the overall effectiveness rating has not changed, though the leadership and management judgement has slipped from Good to Requires Improvement. The school's ranking in the South East region places it in the 87th percentile, meaning 87% of primary schools in the region perform better on the combined KS2 measure.

The school offers a range of facilities including a sensory room, sports hall, forest school area, and an ICT suite. Sports on offer include gymnastics, dance, tennis, cricket and football, while clubs extend to drama, choir, art, science and film. The school has identified SEND provisions for moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. For the 2025/26 intake, the school was oversubscribed with 53 applications for 42 places, a ratio of 1.26 applicants per place, and all 35 first-preference applicants received offers. This suggests the school remains popular locally despite its Ofsted rating. The nearest outstanding-rated school is Portway Infant School, 4.8 km away. Pilgrims' Cross may suit families who value its broad extracurricular offer and SEND support, but who are comfortable with a school that is still working to improve its core academic outcomes.

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