Red Oak Primary School

About Red Oak Primary School

Red Oak Primary School is a mixed state primary for ages 3 to 11 in East Suffolk, currently home to 437 pupils against a capacity of 470, so it is running close to full. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 43%, which is notably high and suggests the school serves a community with above-average economic disadvantage compared with the national primary average. Demand is clear: for the 2025/26 intake, the school received 48 applications for 41 places, with all 41 first-preference applicants offered a spot, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.17. That means roughly one in every six families who applied didn't get in, and the fact that every first-preference child was offered a place suggests the school is popular but not yet impossible to secure a spot at. The headteacher is Tracy Hailstone-Ahern, and the school has no religious character. It also offers nursery provision, which may be a practical draw for local families with younger siblings.

Academically, Red Oak performs well above the local average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 84% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with the Suffolk local authority average of 58%. That puts the school in the top 10% nationally for this metric, ranking 6th out of 72 schools in East Suffolk and 79th out of 1,612 in the East of England region. Subject-level scores are strong too: 93% met expectations in maths, 86% in reading and 88% in writing. At the higher standard, 14% of pupils achieved the higher benchmark across all three subjects, with maths particularly strong at 53% reaching the higher threshold. The school's most recent Ofsted inspection, an ungraded visit in May 2023, confirmed it remains Good and is improving. Its previous graded inspection in 2017 also awarded Good overall, with leadership, management and early years provision all rated Good. This is a significant turnaround from a 2013 inspection that rated the school Inadequate.

The school offers a broad set of facilities including a sensory room, art studios, a library, playing fields, a gymnasium and even a chapel. Sports on offer include netball, tennis, athletics, cross country and swimming, while clubs range from drama and choir to coding, chess and book club. For families with children who have additional needs, the school lists SEND provisions covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing impairment, physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent feedback is overwhelmingly positive: in the most recent Parent View survey, 100% of the 55 respondents would recommend the school, and 89% strongly agreed that their child is happy here. The nearest Outstanding-rated primary is Woods Loke Primary School, 2.4 km away, so Red Oak is a strong local option for families who want a Good-rated school with improving outcomes and a genuinely supportive atmosphere.

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