Wimbish Primary Academy

About Wimbish Primary Academy

Wimbish Primary Academy’s headline KS2 results sit well below the Essex local authority average, which is a stark contrast for parents to weigh up. In the 2023/24 academic year, just 27% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with the LA average of 62%. That places the school in the bottom 50 nationally for this metric, and it ranks 368th out of 444 primary schools in Essex. The picture is mixed when you look at individual subjects: 73% of children met expectations in writing, which is a solid showing, but only 36% did so in reading and 45% in maths. No pupils achieved the higher standard in reading or writing, and just 9% did in maths. The average scaled scores were 99 for reading and 98 for maths, both a touch below the national benchmark of 100. These figures suggest the school faces significant challenges in core academic areas, particularly reading and maths.

The school’s most recent graded Ofsted inspection, in 2011, rated it Good overall, with Good marks for leadership and management and for early years provision. A subsequent ungraded inspection in 2022 confirmed the school remains Good, though the early years provision was judged as Good again. This is a notable improvement from the previous graded inspection in 2008, when the school was rated Requires Improvement. With only 30 pupils on roll against a capacity of 105, Wimbish is a very small primary, and 23.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is above the national average. The school’s Progress 8 scores are not available, so it’s hard to measure how much value the school adds relative to its intake, but the raw outcomes are clearly below the local norm.

Wimbish Primary Academy is oversubscribed for 2025/26, with 16 applications for just 5 places, and 4 of those were first-preference offers. That suggests strong local demand despite the academic results, likely driven by the school’s small size and community feel. Facilities include an ICT suite, sports hall, playing fields, art studios and a chapel, and the school offers a range of clubs from coding and chess to gardening and film club. Sports provision covers gymnastics, cricket, swimming, tennis, cross country and netball. The school has specialist SEND support for social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication difficulties, and autistic spectrum disorder. This is a school that will suit families who prioritise a small, inclusive environment with good pastoral support over headline academic scores, and who are comfortable with the trade-off in KS2 outcomes.

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