Victoria Primary Academy

About Victoria Primary Academy

Victoria Primary Academy in North Northamptonshire is a state primary school for mixed-gender pupils aged 4 to 11, led by headteacher Ian Pearson. With 413 pupils on roll against a capacity of 420, the school is essentially full, and the demand is clear: for the 2025/26 academic year, there were 101 applications for just 54 places, an oversubscription ratio of 1.87. Of those, 49 were first-preference offers, meaning nearly all first-choice families secured a spot, but competition remains strong. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage — 24.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, compared with the national primary average of around 23%. This context matters when interpreting the school's academic results, as schools with higher FSM rates often face additional challenges in achieving top-tier outcomes.

Academically, Victoria Primary Academy sits in the middle of the pack locally. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 57% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, slightly below the local authority average of 61%. This places the school 59th out of 90 primary schools in North Northamptonshire, in the bottom half of the LA ranking. Individual subject scores were more mixed: 74% met the expected standard in maths (average score 103), 69% in reading (average score 103), and 67% in writing. Higher-standard attainment was low — just 2% achieved the higher benchmark across all three subjects, with 10% hitting it in maths and reading, and only 3% in writing. The school's most recent Ofsted inspection in June 2023 rated it Good overall, a notable improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2019. All inspected areas — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — were rated Good.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including music rooms, art studios, a gymnasium, a sensory room, an outdoor playground, a sports hall and a chapel. Sports provision covers athletics, tennis, gymnastics, cross country, dance, netball and cricket, while clubs include drama, science club, choir, eco club, chess and gardening. For SEND, the school supports pupils with specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, physical disabilities, and other difficulties. Parent feedback from the Ofsted Parent View survey (15 responses, collected between September 2024 and September 2025) was overwhelmingly positive: 100% of respondents would recommend the school, and every parent agreed their child is happy there. The school is best suited to families in the North Northamptonshire area seeking a well-subscribed, improving primary with strong pastoral care and a broad extracurricular offer, though those prioritising top-tier academic results may want to look at higher-ranked local options.

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