Westhouses Primary School

About Westhouses Primary School

Westhouses Primary School is a small state primary in Bolsover, Derbyshire, currently home to 80 pupils against a capacity of 89, so it’s running close to full but not yet oversubscribed in terms of total spaces. The school’s free school meal rate sits at 30%, which is notably high — well above the national average of around 23% and a clear signal that the school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage. Despite this, demand is strong: for the 2025/26 intake, the school received 36 applications for just 18 places, with 19 of those coming as first preferences, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2:1. That’s a healthy indicator that local families are actively choosing Westhouses, even with other options nearby. The school has a nursery provision attached, so it feeds children in from age three, and its mixed, non-religious character means it draws from a broad local catchment. For parents weighing up options in Bolsover, this is a school that’s clearly popular and serving a relatively high-need intake.

Academically, Westhouses is a school that’s improving. Its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022 awarded a Good rating across all five categories — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — a clear step up from the Requires Improvement it received in 2019. At Key Stage 2, 45% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is below the Derbyshire local authority average of 59%. However, the school’s average reading score of 102 and maths score of 99 are both close to the national benchmark of 100, and in writing, 64% of pupils reached the expected standard, which is a stronger result. Higher-attaining pupils are less common here: only 18% achieved the higher standard in reading and maths, and 27% in writing. In the Bolsover local authority ranking, Westhouses sits 18th out of 22 schools, placing it in the bottom half nationally. For a school with a high FSM intake, these results are broadly in line with what you’d expect, and the upward Ofsted trajectory is encouraging.

The school offers a decent range of facilities for its size, including an ICT suite, gymnasium, sports hall, sensory room, and art studios — plus a chapel, which is unusual for a non-religious school. Sports provision is solid, with football, cricket, swimming, athletics, tennis, netball and gymnastics all on offer, and clubs include book club, coding, eco club, science club, chess and art club. For SEND, Westhouses is well-equipped, with support listed for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language issues, hearing impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. That breadth of SEND provision, combined with the high FSM rate and small school feel, suggests this is a school that’s used to supporting children with additional needs and challenging circumstances. It won’t suit families looking for top-tier academic results, but for those who value a community-focused, inclusive primary with improving outcomes and a strong pastoral framework, Westhouses is a solid, popular choice in the Bolsover area.

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