These are the top nine state primary schools in and around Southampton. They are all among the top 10% of schools in the country, as determined by the Schoolsmith Score. And two of them rank in the top 100 English state primaries. Southampton is a good area for high performing state primary schools. They are;
- Springhill Catholic Primary School,
- Highfield CofE Primary School,
- Portswood Primary School,
- Mansbridge Primary School in Swaythling,
- Beechwood Junior School in Bitterne,
- Harefield Primary School in Bitterne,
- Botley CofE Primary School,
- Durley CofE Primary School, and
- Droxford Junior School.
The first six on the list are in Southampton, or its suburbs, within two miles of the city centre. Botley CofE Primary and Durley CofE Primary are five miles outside Southampton, and Droxford Junior some 12 miles outside, in the South Downs National Park.
Six schools are in the Southampton Education Authority. Droxford Junior, Durley CofE Primary, and Botley CofE Primary are all within the Hampshire Education Authority. Neither has selective state secondary schools.
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 ratings. 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 Southampton, Romsey and Eastleigh. And that can be found here (soon).
Age range and gender mix
Seven schools have a Reception class. Beechwood Junior and Droxford Junior take pupils from Year 3. However, they are linked to nearby infants’ schools. Beechwood Junior is a member of the same trust as Glenhill Infants’ School. Droxford Junior is federated with Meonstoke CofE School and Newtown Soberton Infant School.
- Springhill Catholic Primary School; 4 to 11 years,
- Highfield CofE Primary School; 4 to 11 years,
- Portswood Primary School; 2 to 11 years,
- Mansbridge Primary School; 4 to 11 years,
- Beechwood Junior School; 7 to 11 years,
- Harefield Primary School; 4 to 11 years,
- Botley CofE Primary School; 5 to 11 years,
- Durley CofE Primary School; 4 to 11 years,
- Droxford Junior School; 7 to 11 years.
Portswood Primary is the only school with its own nursery class. Though please be aware that attendance at the nursery is no guarantee of a place in Reception. Other schools, such as Mansbridge Primary, are located close to pre-school facilities.
Almost all provide access to out of hours care from 7.30/8.00am to 5.00/6.00pm. Droxford Junior provides before-school care only. Care is usually onsite and provided by external contractors. Beechwood Junior, Durley CofE Primary and Harefield Primary are the only schools to provide wraparound care with their own staff.
As far as gender mix goes, they are all co-educational, as indeed are almost all state primary schools.
Faith schools
Of the nine, four are church schools, three Church of England, and one Catholic. Two of them; Highfield CofE Primary and Springhill Catholic Primary are, or were, Voluntary Aided church schools. Which means that faith may have a role in their admissions policies.
The other five schools are not quite secular, they still have a mandatory RE curriculum.
Four schools are academies; Beechwood Junior, Harefield Primary, Portswood Primary, and Springhill Catholic Primary. Which means that they may have more flexibility in their school hours and curricula. Beechwood Junior and Harefield Primary belong to the same large multi-academy trust. They may also have access to more specialist teaching and resources.
Admissions
In terms of admissions policy, please refer to the individual schools’ websites. All operate a catchment system.
Either way, the faithful have some priority at the two voluntary aided church schools if they are oversubscribed for Reception places.
Which they usually are. As are Botley CofE Primary, Durley CofE Primary, Harefield Primary, and Portswood Primary. Durley CofE Primary is actually one of the 20 most oversubscribed schools in Hampshire. Highfield CofE and Portswood Primary are two of the five most oversubscribed schools in Southampton.
Inspections
Ofsted inspectors consider five of these nine schools to be Outstanding, according to their latest inspections.
Mansbridge Primary, Highfield CofE Primary, Portswood Primary and Botley CofE Primary are Good schools.
Buildings and grounds
Grounds aren’t extensive, but enough at each school to provide adequate outdoor space for recreation and sport. There’s not a great deal of variation in the style of school buildings. They are mainly purpose-built, post 1950s but also with more recent extensions and additions.
All are based on a single site, except for Highfield CofE School. Its infant and junior schools are half a mile apart.
The rural schools, Droxford Junior and Durley CofE Primary are in more bucolic locations, and are older. Droxford Junior is based in a red-brick building built in 1929. Durley CofE Primary is based in a refurbished Victorian school.
Class sizes and classes per year
These Southampton primary schools vary in size from combined year group classes to three-form entry. Size can affect the look and feel of a school. And larger schools tend to have more facilities, though not necessarily in proportion to the number of pupils.
There is;
- 1 school with 5 mixed age classes; Durley CofE Primary.
- 1 one-form entry school; Mansbridge Primary.
- 3 one-and-a-half-form entry schools; Botley CofE Primary, Droxford Junior, and Highfield CofE Primary.
- 2 two-form entry schools; Harefield Primary, and Portswood Primary.
- 2 three-form entry schools; Beechwood Junior, and Springhill Catholic Primary.
Class sizes at each school are on average 28-31 pupils. At Durley CofE Primary, however, average class sizes are nearer to 25 pupils.
Facilities at Southampton state primary schools
They all have more specialist facilities to support their curricula than most UK primary schools. For sport that includes a grass sports field, tarmac or MUGA playgrounds and pitches, and a school hall. There’s a heated outdoor pool at Botley CofE Primary. But, by and large, the variety of sports facilities is similar.
Beyond the multi-purpose hall, however, arts facilities are limited.
As for academic facilities there are libraries, environmental areas, and IT facilities, either as a computer suite or in-class devices at each school. Durley CofE Primary, Droxford Junior, Botley CofE Primary, and Springhill Catholic Primary have the widest variety of specialist academic facilities.
Academic curricula
All these schools teach a broad curriculum in line with the National Curriculum. Most of them teach subjects separately, linking some subjects to a common half-termly theme or ‘topic’. They do this to stimulate higher order thinking, especially to develop ‘skills’ in cross-curricular project work.
The most common subjects to link are history and geography through a humanities topic. Botley CofE Primary goes further. The school links history, geography, English reading and creative writing, art, DT, sometimes science and computing into a half termly ‘Integrated Unit of Learning’.
The curricula at the four church schools emphasise Christian/Catholic social morality. Particularly in lessons such as PSHE and 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.
Seven of the Southampton state primary schools teach French as their choice of modern language, and from Year 3. Harefield Primary teaches Spanish, and Mansbridge Primary teaches Mandarin.
Most of the schools include some element of outdoor learning in their curricula, particularly for their youngest pupils. But it is most significant at Droxford Junior where outdoor learning, geography and history draw inspiration from the school’s location. It is also an Ambassador School for the South Downs National Park.
All nine schools offers educational trips and visiting speakers. Most also offer a residential trip for older pupils, usually an outdoor adventure. Beechwood Junior (2) and Droxford Junior (4) offer the most residentials.
Sport at Southampton state primary schools
Each school teaches between 9 and 12 different sports, with Beechwood Junior and Droxford Junior offering the widest variety.
The size of the primary school, in terms of number of pupils, has a bearing on the strength of their sports teams. The idea being that larger schools have a larger pool to select from. In which case we should expect Beechwood Junior and Springhill Catholic Primary to field the strongest teams.
None of the schools has a sustained track record for sporting achievement in national competitions.
The arts at Southampton 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.
Beyond this, these aren’t the most differentiated schools in Hampshire for the arts.
Pupils at each of these Southampton primary schools benefit from some after-school and lunchtime activities. There are clubs for academic enrichment and hobbies, arts, and sport. The choice is widest at Beechwood Junior, Botley CofE Primary, Droxford Junior, Highfield CofE Primary and Portswood Primary.
Academic results
Academic results at these Southampton primary schools are all at, or above, the UK average. Furthermore, on a four-year average, eight of the nine are in the top 31% of UK schools for attainment in Year 6 SATS.
The highest ranked school is Portswood Primary, which is in the top 0.1% nationally. Which means that it is one of the top 20 schools in the country. Springhill Catholic Primary is in the top 3% and Highfield CofE Primary is in the top 4%.
Pupil progress results, by the same measure, are more variable. However, Portswood Primary is in the top 3% nationally, and Mansbridge Primary is in the top 7%. Springhill Catholic Primary is in the top 12% and Highfield CofE Primary is in the top 15%.
Choosing the best state primary school in Southampton
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 10% best state primary schools in the country. As I hope this note has shown, any one of them should be a preference.
Two of these Southampton primary schools rank considerably higher. Portswood Primary and Springhill Catholic Primary rank in the top 100.
| Rank | Best Southampton primary schools | Schoolsmith Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1= | Portswood Primary School | 73 |
| 1= | Springhill Catholic Primary School | 73 |
| 3= | Beechwood Junior School | 71 |
| 3= | Botley Church of England Primary School | 71 |
| 5 | Droxford Junior School | 70 |
| 6= | Durley Church of England Primary School | 69 |
| 6= | Harefield Primary School | 69 |
| 6= | Highfield Church of England Primary School | 69 |
| 6= | Mansbridge Primary School | 69 |
See also the best state primary schools in Winchester, New Forest, Petersfield, Portsmouth & Fareham, and Chandler’s Ford
Why are these the best state primary schools in Southampton?
Schools that feature in these notes are those with the highest Schoolsmith Scores, not just in Southampton, 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…