River Mead School

About River Mead School

River Mead School is a state primary in Wiltshire, serving 281 pupils from ages 2 to 11. In the local authority’s primary school rankings, it sits at 136th out of 159 schools, placing it in the bottom half of the county. For context, the top-performing nearby schools include Stanton St Quintin Primary and Nursery School, The Holy Trinity Church of England Primary Academy, and Sutton Veny CofE School, all of which score significantly higher on the same ranking metric. The school is oversubscribed for the 2025/26 intake, with 55 applications for 28 places and all 28 first-preference families receiving an offer, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.96. A notable proportion of pupils — 44.4 per cent — are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average, and the school has a nursery provision for children from age 2.

Academically, River Mead’s most recent Ofsted inspection in October 2024 judged the school as Good overall, with leadership and management rated Outstanding. In the previous inspection in 2019, it also held a Good rating. At Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year, 41 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with the Wiltshire local authority average of 58 per cent. In individual subjects, 56 per cent met the expected standard in reading, 53 per cent in writing, and 50 per cent in maths. The average maths score was 99, while the average reading score was 105. Higher attainment was more varied: 33 per cent achieved the higher standard in reading, 18 per cent in writing, and none in maths. Nationally, the school ranks in the bottom 10 per cent of all primaries on the combined expected standard metric.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a library, sports hall, playing fields, art studios, ICT suite, and a forest school. Sports on offer include football, swimming, netball, rounders, athletics, dance, and tennis, while clubs cover art, science, coding, eco, chess, and choir. For SEND, the school has a dedicated SEN unit and provisions for specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, and speech, language and communication needs. Parent View responses from 57 families between September 2024 and September 2025 were overwhelmingly positive: 91 per cent would recommend the school, 95 per cent agreed their child is happy, and 90 per cent agreed their child feels safe. The school suits families looking for a well-regarded local primary with strong pastoral care and SEND support, though those prioritising top academic rankings may want to compare with higher-performing Wiltshire schools nearby.

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