Rowanfield Junior School

About Rowanfield Junior School

Rowanfield Junior School is a state primary for children aged 7 to 11, located in Cheltenham within the Gloucestershire local authority. It sits 16th out of 22 primary schools in the Cheltenham area on its key stage 2 results, placing it in the bottom half of local schools. The top-performing peers in the LA include Meysey Hampton Church of England Primary School, Temple Guiting Church of England School, and Thrupp School, all of which rank higher on the same metric. The nearest school rated Outstanding by Ofsted is Gloucester Road Primary School, just 0.9 kilometres away. Rowanfield itself holds a Good rating from its most recent graded inspection in 2020, and an ungraded inspection in April 2025 confirmed that standards are being maintained. The school is led by headteacher Shona Riddell and has a capacity of 360 pupils, with 345 currently on roll. It is a mixed, non-religious school with no nursery or boarding provision.

Academically, Rowanfield’s key stage 2 results for the 2023/24 academic year show that 50% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. This is below the Gloucestershire local authority average of 59%. In individual subjects, 67% reached the expected standard in reading, 68% in maths, and 63% in writing. The proportion achieving the higher standard was notably lower: 17% in reading, 13% in maths, and just 3% in writing, with only 2% reaching the higher standard across all three subjects. Average scores in reading and maths were both 102. Progress measures are not available for this school. Nationally, Rowanfield ranks in the bottom 22% of primary schools on the combined expected standard metric, and in the bottom 29% within the South West region. The school’s previous Ofsted inspection in 2014 rated it Outstanding overall, so the current Good rating represents a step down in official grading.

The school offers a range of facilities including a sensory room, forest school, sports hall, ICT suite, and a chapel. Sports on offer include swimming, athletics, netball, tennis and rounders, while clubs cover drama, chess and coding. SEND provisions are in place for moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses, based on 15 respondents between September 2024 and September 2025, were overwhelmingly positive: 93% would recommend the school, and 60% strongly agreed that their child is happy. However, the school is oversubscribed with 345 pupils against a capacity of 360, and 42% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. This is a school that suits families looking for a community-focused primary with strong pastoral care and a broad range of activities, but where academic outcomes are below the local average.

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