West Ham Church Primary School

About West Ham Church Primary School

West Ham Church Primary School sits within Newham, a London borough with 68 state primary schools, and ranks 47th among them on the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. That places it in the middle of the local pack, well behind the top three peers — Tollgate, Cleves and Rosetta primary schools — which all score in the low-to-mid 90s on the same metric. The school’s ranking score of 64 puts it in the top 50 nationally, though it falls into the bottom half of London primaries. For families weighing up options in Newham, the nearest Outstanding-rated school is Portway Primary School, just 0.6 km away. West Ham Church is a Church of England state primary for mixed-gender pupils aged 3 to 11, with a nursery on site. Headteacher Nicola James leads a school of 308 pupils, well under its capacity of 375, and 33.1 per cent of children are eligible for free school meals, above the national average.

In its most recent graded Ofsted inspection, carried out in 2016, the school was rated Good overall, with Good marks for leadership and management and early years provision. That was an improvement on the previous inspection in 2014, when it was judged to Require Improvement. A follow-up ungraded inspection in 2021 confirmed the school remains Good. At Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year, 64 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths — ten percentage points below the Newham local authority average of 74 per cent. Only 12 per cent reached the higher standard in those three subjects combined. In individual subjects, reading and maths both saw 73 per cent of pupils hit the expected mark, while writing was stronger at 82 per cent. Average scores sat at 105 in reading and 103 in maths, both slightly above the national benchmark of 100.

The school is oversubscribed for Reception entry in 2025/26, with 88 applications for 27 places — a ratio of 3.26 applicants per place. Of those, 24 put it as their first preference, and all 24 received an offer. Facilities include a dining hall, ICT suite, forest school, art studios, gymnasium, sports hall and a chapel. Sports on offer range from rounders and swimming to tennis, netball, cricket and football, while clubs include drama, chess, film club and eco club. The school has a broad range of SEND provisions, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing impairment and autistic spectrum disorder. This is a school that suits families who value a Church of England ethos and a strong SEND support offer, and who are comfortable with academic results that sit below the local average.

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