Shadwell Primary School

About Shadwell Primary School

Shadwell Primary School was rated Good in all areas of its most recent Ofsted inspection in June 2025, a clear improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating. The school now holds Good grades for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. But the headline figure that really sets this school apart is its Key Stage 2 performance. In the 2023/24 assessments, 90% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That places Shadwell first out of 204 primary schools in the Leeds local authority, and in the top 2.2% nationally. The school’s ranking score of 90 puts it in the top 5% tier of schools in the region. For context, the Leeds local authority average for the same combined measure is 61%, so Shadwell’s performance is significantly above the norm. The school also achieved strong average scaled scores of 111 in reading and 109 in maths.

Looking more closely at the attainment breakdown, 93% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths individually, and a notable proportion reached the higher standard: 59% in reading, 52% in maths, 31% in writing, and 28% across all three subjects. These figures are particularly striking given that only 2.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, a low proportion compared with many schools. The school is heavily oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, there were 111 applications for just 28 places, with 25 first-preference offers made. That gives an oversubscription ratio of nearly 4 to 1, so securing a place is competitive. The school’s parent view survey, based on 72 responses collected between September 2024 and September 2025, shows strong satisfaction: 89% of parents agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy, and 94% felt their child is safe.

Shadwell Primary is a mixed, non-denominational state school for children aged 5 to 11, with a capacity of 210 and currently 205 pupils on roll. The school offers facilities including art studios, a sensory room, a library, playing fields, a sports hall, and a chapel. Sports on offer include swimming, netball, dance, athletics, cross country, cricket and football, while clubs include choir, drama, film club, chess, science club and book club. The school has identified SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. However, the parent view survey received no responses to the question about SEND support, so it is difficult to gauge parent satisfaction in that area. This is a school that clearly delivers strong academic outcomes and is in high demand among Leeds families, particularly those who prioritise academic results and a broad range of extracurricular activities.

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