Willowbank Primary School

About Willowbank Primary School

Willowbank Primary School in Mid Devon is a state primary for 4 to 11 year olds that currently teaches 247 pupils against a total capacity of 416, meaning there is significant room to grow. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 19.4%, which is above the national average for primary schools and suggests a catchment with above-average levels of disadvantage. Despite that spare capacity, the school is clearly in demand: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 48 applications for just 22 places, with 20 of those applications coming from first-preference families. That works out at roughly 2.2 applications per place, a healthy oversubscription ratio that signals strong local reputation. The school is non-denominational and mixed, and is led by headteacher Hannah Jay. Its most recent Ofsted inspection, in January 2023, rated it Good across all five categories — a notable improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2016.

Academically, Willowbank’s Key Stage 2 results for 2023/24 paint a mixed picture. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined was 41%, which is well below the Devon local authority average of 57%. In reading, 66% met the expected standard and 22% reached the higher standard; in maths, 61% met the expected standard and 20% reached the higher standard. Writing saw 71% meet the expected standard but no pupils reached the higher standard. The average scaled scores were 103 in reading and 101 in maths, both slightly above the national benchmark of 100. Nationally, the school ranks in the bottom 10% of all primaries on the combined expected standard metric, and within Mid Devon it sits 30th out of 35 schools. That said, the school has improved its Ofsted grade from Requires Improvement to Good, and the leadership and management are now rated Good too.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a library, sports hall, gymnasium, music rooms, playing fields and a forest school, plus a chapel. Sports provision covers tennis, rounders, football, netball, gymnastics and athletics, and there are clubs for chess, gardening, book club, drama and film club. For children with additional needs, Willowbank has identified SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, speech and language communication needs, hearing impairment, autistic spectrum disorder, and social, emotional and mental health needs. There is no nursery or sixth form. Given its oversubscription but relatively low academic outcomes compared with the local average, this school may suit families who prioritise a supportive, inclusive environment and the recent Ofsted improvement over raw test scores, and who are comfortable with a larger-than-average FSM cohort. The nearest Outstanding-rated alternative is The Duchy School Bradninch, about 4.1 km away.

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