Thornbury Primary School

About Thornbury Primary School

Thornbury Primary School’s headline metrics place it significantly below the Plymouth local authority average for primary schools. While the LA average for pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (KS2) sits at 63%, Thornbury’s figure is just 43%. That 20-point gap is substantial and places the school 59th out of 65 primary schools in the city, firmly in the bottom tier. The school’s ranking score of 43 reflects this, and its national percentile of 87.6 means the vast majority of primary schools across England outperform it on this key measure. However, the picture is not uniformly weak. In reading, 59% of pupils met the expected standard, and in writing that figure was 62% — both closer to the LA average. The real drag comes from maths, where only 57% reached the expected level, and from the combined measure. The proportion of pupils achieving a higher standard in all three subjects is just 5%, which is low even by national norms.

Thornbury’s most recent Ofsted inspection, in October 2024, judged the school as Requires Improvement overall, a downgrade from its previous Good rating in 2015. The inspection report noted that the quality of education requires improvement, but several other areas were rated Good, including early years provision, personal development, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management. This suggests that while academic outcomes are a concern, the school’s pastoral and behavioural foundations are solid. Parent View responses, collected between September 2024 and September 2025, show a mixed picture: 74% of parents would recommend the school, and strong majorities agree that their child is happy (86% combined agree/strongly agree) and feels safe (91%). However, only 57% of parents feel concerns are dealt with properly, and just 43% agree that the school has high expectations for their child. The SEND support question is particularly polarised, with 45% agreeing or strongly agreeing that children get the support they need, but 36% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing.

The school is oversubscribed for 2025/26, with 50 applications for 21 places and 19 first-preference offers, giving a ratio of 2.38 applicants per place. This suggests strong local demand despite the academic and inspection ratings. Facilities are decent for a primary: a music room, ICT suite, forest school, gymnasium, sports hall, art studios and even a chapel. Clubs include drama, gardening, science, choir, film and chess, and sports offered are athletics, football, cricket and dance. SEND provision is broad, covering dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, SEMH, speech and language, hearing impairment, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder, plus a resourced provision. Thornbury is likely to suit families who prioritise a school with strong pastoral care and a wide range of activities, and who are prepared to work with the school on raising academic standards. The nearest outstanding-rated alternative, Tor Bridge Primary, is only 0.7 km away, so it’s worth comparing both.

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