St George's Beneficial Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School

About St George's Beneficial Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School

St George's Beneficial Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School sits in a challenging position within Portsmouth's primary landscape. Its key stage 2 results for the 2023/24 academic year show that 43% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is ten percentage points below the local authority average of 53%. This places the school 25th out of 32 primary schools in Portsmouth, putting it in the bottom half of the LA rankings. The picture is mixed when you look at individual subjects: 65% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading and 63% in writing, but maths was lower at 61%. Only 4% of children achieved the higher standard in both reading, writing and maths, and the school's national percentile ranking of 87.9 confirms it is performing well below the typical primary school nationally. These are sobering headline numbers, but they need to be read alongside the fact that 55.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, a figure well above the national average, which provides important context for the school's academic outcomes.

Despite the attainment figures, Ofsted's most recent inspection in 2025 rated the school as Good across every category judged, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. The early years provision was also rated Good. This is consistent with the school's previous inspection in 2014, which also awarded a Good overall effectiveness rating. Parent feedback is notably positive: 92% of respondents would recommend the school, and 97% strongly agreed or agreed that their child is happy there. On safety, 92% strongly agreed or agreed that their child feels safe. The school's Progress 8 scores for reading, writing and maths are not available in the data, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. However, the strong parent satisfaction and consistent Ofsted grades suggest that the school is providing a stable and supportive environment, even if the raw exam results do not match the LA average.

St George's is a Church of England primary school for children aged 3 to 11, with a current roll of 303 pupils against a capacity of 350. It was oversubscribed for the 2025/26 intake, receiving 38 applications for 25 places, with all 25 first-preference applicants offered a spot. The school offers a range of facilities including art studios, music rooms, a sensory room, a forest school and a chapel. Sports include athletics, football, cricket and tennis, and there are clubs such as choir, drama, book club and science club. The school has identified SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing impairment and physical disability. Parent views on SEND support are mixed: 70% strongly agreed that the school gives SEND children the support they need, but 20% disagreed and 10% strongly disagreed. This school will suit families who value a strong pastoral and community ethos, and who are comfortable with academic results that are below the local average but delivered in a context of high pupil disadvantage.

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