Swanwick Primary School

About Swanwick Primary School

Swanwick Primary School sits within the Derbyshire local authority in the Amber Valley borough, a state primary for mixed-gender pupils aged 4 to 11. In the local landscape of primary schools, it ranks 20th out of 43 schools in Amber Valley based on the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at key stage 2, placing it in the top half of the borough. The top-performing peers in the area are Wessington Primary School, Redhill Primary School and Longford CofE Primary School, all of which achieved a perfect ranking score of 100 on the same metric. Swanwick’s score of 63 puts it in the top 50 tier nationally, and across the East Midlands region it ranks 600th out of 1,353 primary schools. The school is led by headteacher Ben Wray and has a capacity of 409 pupils, with 383 currently on roll, meaning it is close to full.

Academically, Swanwick’s most recent key stage 2 results from the 2023/24 academic year show that 63% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is above the Derbyshire local authority average of 59%. In reading, 81% of pupils reached the expected standard and 25% achieved a higher standard; in maths, 73% met the expected level and 25% reached the higher standard. Writing saw 69% at the expected level and 13% at the higher standard. The average scaled scores were 106 in reading and 105 in maths. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in April 2025 judged it Good across all graded areas, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This marks a clear improvement from its previous inspection in December 2022, when the school was rated Requires Improvement overall.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including a library, dining hall, sensory room, ICT suite, playing fields, forest school, art studios and a chapel. Sports provision covers gymnastics, football, cross country, cricket, dance, netball and swimming, while clubs include science club, drama, eco club, choir, chess and film club. Swanwick supports pupils with a variety of special educational needs and disabilities, including specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing impairment, physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder. The school was oversubscribed for the 2025/26 academic year, with 82 applications for 51 places and 49 first-preference offers made. Parent views are very positive: 94% of respondents would recommend the school, and strong majorities agreed that children are happy, feel safe, and that the school has high expectations. This is a solid, improving primary that suits families seeking a well-regarded local school with strong SEND support and a good range of activities.

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