Thomas Bullock Church of England Primary and Nursery Academy

About Thomas Bullock Church of England Primary and Nursery Academy

Thomas Bullock Church of England Primary and Nursery Academy has turned a corner. Its most recent graded inspection, in early 2020, saw the school rated Good overall, a significant improvement from the Requires Improvement it received in 2017. An ungraded inspection in 2025 confirmed that the school has improved significantly since then, with every area inspected — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management — now rated Good. But the strongest signal of the school’s academic strength comes from its Key Stage 2 results. In the 2023/24 academic year, 85% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That figure is well above the Norfolk local authority average of 52%, and it places Thomas Bullock first out of 43 primary schools in the Breckland area. Nationally, the school sits in the top 5% of all primary schools for this measure.

Digging deeper into those KS2 results, the school’s performance is consistently strong across the core subjects. In reading, 89% of pupils met the expected standard and 59% reached the higher standard, with an average scaled score of 111. Maths tells a similar story: 89% at expected, 59% at the higher level, and an average score of 111. Writing is slightly behind but still solid, with 85% at expected and 11% at the higher standard. The school’s overall ranking score of 85 puts it in the top 10% of primary schools nationally, and it ranks 9th out of 344 primary schools in Norfolk. The Ofsted inspection report from 2020 noted that the early years provision was Good, and the ungraded 2025 visit confirmed that the school has maintained its Good rating across the board. For parents, the data suggests a school that delivers well above the local average in the basics, with a particular strength in reading and maths.

The school is a Church of England primary with a nursery, taking children from age 2 to 11. It has 220 pupils on roll, just under its capacity of 236, and 14.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals. For the 2025/26 reception intake, the school was oversubscribed: 39 first-preference applications were made for 40 places, and a total of 51 applications were received. That 1.27 oversubscription ratio suggests it’s a popular choice locally. Facilities include a sports hall, playing fields, a forest school area, an ICT suite, a library, art studios and a chapel. The school offers a range of sports including cricket, football, tennis and dance, plus clubs for drama, choir and chess. SEND support covers specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, speech and language needs, social and emotional mental health needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses are broadly positive: 88% would recommend the school, and strong majorities agree that children are happy, safe and well-behaved. This is a school that suits families who want strong academic outcomes in a village primary setting with a Christian character.

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