Thurnby Mead Primary Academy

About Thurnby Mead Primary Academy

Thurnby Mead Primary Academy has been rated Good by Ofsted following its most recent ungraded inspection in May 2025, where inspectors confirmed that standards are being maintained. This marks a significant improvement from the school's previous graded inspection in 2010, when it was rated Requires Improvement. The most telling academic metric for this primary school is the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2, which stands at 74 per cent. That is comfortably above the Leicester local authority average of 62 per cent, placing Thurnby Mead 13th out of 68 primary schools in the city and within the top 25 per cent nationally. The school also performs well on individual subject scores, with average scaled scores of 107 in both reading and maths, and 82 per cent of pupils hitting the expected standard in each of those subjects individually.

Looking more closely at the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 79 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in writing, while 32 per cent achieved the higher standard in maths and 26 per cent did so in reading. The combined higher standard across all three subjects was 9 per cent. These outcomes suggest solid, consistent teaching across the core subjects, though the school does not publish progress scores for reading, writing or maths, so it is not possible to measure how much value it adds relative to pupils' starting points. Ofsted rated both leadership and management and overall effectiveness as Good, and the school's leadership team, headed by Michelle Woodhouse, appears to have driven the improvement from the Requires Improvement rating of 2010. Parents seem broadly satisfied: 83 per cent would recommend the school, and in the Parent View survey, 87 per cent strongly agreed or agreed that their child is happy at the school.

Thurnby Mead is a state primary for children aged 3 to 11, with a nursery on site, and it is currently oversubscribed. For the 2025/26 intake, there were 74 applications for 30 places, with 31 first-preference applications and all 30 offers going to first-preference families. The school has a SEN unit and offers support for a range of needs including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language difficulties, and hearing impairment. Facilities include playing fields, a sports hall, art studios and a dining hall, and the school runs clubs such as drama, choir, film club, gardening and chess. Sports on offer include swimming, athletics, tennis, cricket, netball and football. With 26.6 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a relatively diverse catchment. It will suit families looking for a Good-rated primary with strong core results, a clear improvement trajectory, and a broad range of extracurricular opportunities in the Leicester area.

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