The best state primary schools in Newbury

These are the five best state primary schools in Newbury and the surrounding area;

The review area stretches from Aldermaston and Tadley in the east to the bowl of Newbury and Thatcham and the edges of the North Wessex Downs that surround them. All five schools, however, are north and south-west of Newbury within five miles of the town centre. They are all small rural village schools. They are also among the top 15% of schools in the country, as determined by the Schoolsmith Score;

The differences between primary schools are less obvious than prep schools, and deliberately so. State education is designed such that all children should receive the same curriculum irrespective of where they are taught, and who is teaching them. So, to differentiate, parents have traditionally looked to SATS results and Ofsted gradings. Beyond that, there is also a commonly held belief that Church schools are ‘better’ schools. That’s pretty much it. Hopefully, this comparison might shed a little more light.

There is also a partner review for prep schools in Newbury and the surrounding area. And that can be found here (soon).

Age range, gender mix, and faith

Chieveley Primary School; 4 to 11 years,
Curridge Primary School; 4 to 11 years
Woolton Hill Junior School; 7 to 11 years,
St Martin’s East Woodhay CofE Primary School; 4 to 11 years
Inkpen Primary School; 5 to 11 years.

Woolton Hill Junior is a junior school, which means that it teaches children from age 7 to 11. It is, however, federated with the nearby St Thomas’ Infant School. The other four schools teach children from Reception to Year 6.

None of the schools have a nursery class. However, ‘Inkspots’ at Inkpen Primary is a pre-school facility within the grounds of Inkpen Primary.

All but Inkpen Primary provide access to out of hours care from 8.00am to 5.45/6.00pm. At St Martin’s CofE Primary care is provided by school staff. At the other three schools care is provided by external contractors on school premises.

As far as gender mix goes, they are all co-educational, as indeed are almost all state primary schools.

St Martin’s CofE Primary School is a church school. It is also a Voluntary Aided school, which means that faith may have a role to play in the admissions policy. Woolton Hill Junior is affiliated to the Church of England by virtue of its federation with St Thomas’ CofE Infant School. Religion plays a larger role in school life here than at most other community schools. The other three are community schools, teaching a mandatory RE curriculum.

Admissions

In terms of admissions policy, please refer to the individual schools’ websites. All operate a catchment system. Chieveley Primary, Curridge Primary and Inkpen Primary are in the West Berkshire Education Authority. St Martin’s and Woolton Hill Junior are in Hampshire.

The faithful may have some priority at St Martin’s CofE Primary if they are oversubscribed for places in Reception. Which isn’t really an issue. The most regularly oversubscribed schools are Chieveley Primary and Curridge Primary. In fact, Curridge Primary is one of the five most oversubscribed schools in West Berkshire.

Inspections

Ofsted inspectors consider four of these schools to be Good, according to their latest inspections.

Inkpen Primary was downgraded from Good to Inadequate in its 2022 inspection. In 2023 it was rerated as Requires Improvement. Inspectors take issue with the variability of teaching standards and levels of safeguarding.

Buildings and grounds

These are small village schools serving rural communities. And a large proportion of those communities are members of the Armed Forces.

Each school is typically a single-storey purpose-built facility on a rural lane or in a residential area. They’ll have sufficient grounds for outdoor play but not extensive grounds per se.

Class sizes and classes per year

These top Newbury state primary schools are small. Three have less than one class per year. In other words, mixed year groups and less than one class per year. Of course, size doesn’t necessarily influence the quality of education, but it can affect the look and feel of a school.

There are;

3 schools with three or four classes; Curridge Primary, Inkpen Primary and St Martin’s East Woodhay CofE Primary.
1 one-form entry school; Chieveley Primary.
1 one-and-a-half-form entry school, with some mixed year groups; Woolton Hill Junior.

Average class sizes at each school are usually 27-28 pupils. But they can be much lower. At Inkpen Primary, for example, average class sizes are currently under 20 pupils.

Facilities at Newbury state primary schools

They all have some specialist facilities to support their curricula. For sport that includes playgrounds and a school hall. There are also grass fields at St Martin’s CofE Primary, Inkpen Primary and Curridge Primary.

Beyond the multi-purpose hall, specialist arts facilities at each school are limited.

Academic facilities are mainly networked laptops and devices, a dedicated library or in-class reading areas, and an outdoor/environmental area. Inkpen Primary also has a computer suite.

Academic curricula

These Newbury primary schools teach a broad curriculum in line with the National Curriculum.

Woolton Hill Junior teaches subjects separately, developing knowledge and skills within discreet subject areas. The other four schools teach thematically, linking non-core subjects across the curriculum to a half-termly topic.

The schools with mixed age year groups also use rolling two or three-year cycle topics. But core subjects, such as maths, English, sometimes science and computing, are taught in line with the pupils’ ages.

The curriculum at St Martin’s CofE Primary emphasises Christian social morality, particularly in lessons such as PSHE, Citizenship and in assemblies. RE, naturally, plays a prominent role in the curriculum as a core subject along with English and maths. And there is usually daily worship. As there is at Woolton Hill Junior.

Four schools teach French from Year 3. Chieveley Primary teaches Spanish.

All schools have educational trips and visitors, and an adventure residential in Year 5 and/or 6. Each includes some element of outdoor learning in their curricula, usually for their youngest pupils. Curridge Primary has Forest School and Outdoor Learning for all year groups.

Sport at Newbury state primary schools

Each school encourages participation in physical exercise by teaching around 10-12 different sports. Provision is fine, if undifferentiated. St Martin’s East Woodhay CofE Primary and Curridge Primary have, in the past, committed to more sport and participation through the Schools Games Mark accreditation scheme.

The arts at Newbury state primary schools

The schools all promote engagement with the arts on an individual and ensemble basis. For example, there is art, a choir, instrument learning, and dramatic performances at each school. Arts provision is probably best at Woolton Hill Junior where there is wider provision in and out of the classroom.

Pupils at these five Newbury state primary schools also benefit from a handful of lunchtime and after-school activities. There’s sport, of course. But there are also some clubs for academic enrichment, hobbies, and arts.

Academic results

Forces children tend not to stay in one location for too long. Even with the transient nature of the pupil population these five Newbury state primary schools consistently achieve academic results that are at or above the UK average. Having said that, results aren’t as impressive as in some schools in neighbouring areas.

The highest performer is Curridge Primary. On a four-year average, the school is in the top 26% of UK schools for attainment in Year 6 SATS.

Pupil progress, by the same measure, is more variable for all schools.

Choosing the best state primary school in Newbury

The freedom to choose a state school is somewhat limited as applicants need to live within the school’s catchment area. But there may be a choice of more than one. Most Education Authorities offer the opportunity to select preferred schools, albeit from a limited list.

These schools are all among the top 15% best primary schools in the country. As I hope this note has shown, any one of them should be a preference.

Rank	Best Newbury primary schools	Schoolsmith Score
1	Woolton Hill Junior School	68
2=	Curridge Primary School	67
2=	St Martin’s East Woodhay CofE Primary School	67
4=	Chieveley Primary School	66
4=	Inkpen Primary School	66

See also the best state primary schools in Reading, Basingstoke, and Andover

Why are these the best state primary schools in Newbury?

Schools that feature in these notes are those with the highest Schoolsmith Scores, not just in Newbury, but nationwide. The Schoolsmith Score is an objective score that accounts for 50 different aspects of schooling, grouped into 5 broad categories. You can read more about them from the links below, and the Schoolsmith Score here.

their achievements; academic, sporting and artistic,
the breadth of the education they offer,
the quality of teaching,
their facilities,
their look and feel.

Need more help?

By now you might be wondering what you should be thinking about when choosing a school? It happens to everyone. Why not try my 7 one minute quizzes for those starting their school search? Wood, trees, and all that…