Waverley Primary Academy

About Waverley Primary Academy

Waverley Primary Academy sits just above the local authority average for its key stage 2 headline measure, with 61% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with the Rotherham average of 60%. That puts the school in 42nd place out of 96 primary schools in the borough, right in the middle of the pack. But the real story here is the gap between that solid core performance and the school's weaker showing at the higher standard. Only 7% of pupils achieved the higher benchmark across all three subjects, which is a noticeably low figure and suggests that while most children are meeting expectations, relatively few are stretching well beyond them. The school's overall Ofsted rating of Good, confirmed in a July 2023 inspection, backs up the sense of a school doing a reliable job without being exceptional. What does stand out, however, is the early years provision, which inspectors rated Outstanding, alongside personal development also judged Outstanding. That points to a school that gets the foundations right, even if the top-end academic results are more modest.

Looking more closely at the 2023/24 key stage 2 results, the picture is mixed by subject. In maths, 75% of pupils reached the expected standard and 27% achieved the higher standard, with an average scaled score of 104. Reading was slightly weaker: 71% at expected and 19% at higher, also with an average score of 104. Writing matched maths on expected attainment at 75%, but only 14% hit the higher mark. The school's progress scores for reading, writing and maths are not available in the data, so it's hard to say whether pupils are making strong gains from their starting points. Nationally, Waverley ranks in the bottom half, sitting at 7,313 out of 13,686 primary schools on the expected standard metric. In the Yorkshire and the Humber region, it falls just above the midpoint at 771 out of 1,506. The Ofsted breakdown shows that behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and quality of education were all judged Good, with no previous inspection data to compare against.

Waverley is a larger-than-average primary school with 533 pupils on roll against a capacity of 583, and it offers nursery provision for children from age two. The school was oversubscribed for the 2025/26 intake, receiving 116 applications for 89 places, with 90 first-preference applications and all 89 places offered to first-preference families, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.3. Facilities are strong for a state primary, including art studios, a sports hall, gymnasium, music rooms, library and an outdoor playground. The school runs a wide range of clubs from drama and choir to coding and science club, and offers sports including dance, athletics, swimming and cross country. SEND provision is comprehensive, with a dedicated SEN unit and resourced provision covering autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language needs, social and emotional mental health, dyslexia and physical disability. For families seeking an Outstanding-rated alternative, the nearest such school is Aston Fence Junior and Infant School, 2.9 kilometres away. Waverley suits parents who value strong early years care and a broad enrichment offer over top-tier academic stretch.

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