Richmond Avenue Primary and Nursery School

About Richmond Avenue Primary and Nursery School

Richmond Avenue Primary and Nursery School is a mixed state primary in Southend-on-Sea that currently educates 415 pupils against a capacity of 460, meaning it runs with some spare spaces. That spare capacity is notable given the school’s popularity: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 59 applications for 32 places, an oversubscription ratio of 1.84, and made 24 offers to first-preference families. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals sits at 21.4%, which is above the national average for primary schools and suggests a genuinely mixed intake. The school serves children from age 2 through to 11, with nursery provision on site, and is non-denominational. Headteacher Kate Moneypenny leads a school that has clearly grown in confidence since its last full graded inspection in 2015, when it was rated Requires Improvement; its most recent ungraded inspection in 2022 confirmed it remains Good, with both early years provision and leadership and management judged Outstanding.

Academically, Richmond Avenue sits in the middle of the pack in Southend-on-Sea. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 59% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, just below the local authority average of 61%. That places the school 14th out of 25 primaries in the borough, and in the bottom half nationally by percentile. Individual subject scores are more encouraging: 71% of pupils met the expected standard in reading and 72% in writing, while maths came in at 69%. Average scaled scores were 104 in both reading and maths, bang on the national benchmark. At the higher standard, 24% of pupils achieved that level in maths, 19% in reading and 14% in writing, with just 5% hitting the higher threshold across all three subjects. The school’s progress scores are not published, so it’s hard to say how much value it adds, but the results suggest a solid, if not standout, academic profile.

The school offers a practical range of facilities including a gymnasium, library, sensory room, forest school and playing fields, plus a chapel. Sports provision covers netball, cricket, football and swimming, while after-school clubs include coding, drama, science club and film club. SEND support is well developed, with specialist provision for dyslexia, speech and language needs, hearing impairment, autistic spectrum disorder and social, emotional and mental health needs. This makes the school a strong option for families whose children need targeted support within a mainstream setting. The oversubscription data shows it is genuinely in demand, but with a capacity cushion, late applicants still have a realistic chance. Richmond Avenue suits families who want a well-led, inclusive primary with strong early years provision and a broad extracurricular offer, rather than one chasing top-tier academic rankings.

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