William Murdoch Primary School

Type Primary / Community school
Age Range 3-11
Religion Does not apply
Address Antrobus Road
Handsworth
Birmingham
West Midlands
B21 9NT
Phone 01215540999
Reference Number 103317

William Murdoch Primary School is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating in its first routine inspection since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The school fosters a vibrant and welcoming environment where pupils are happy and safe, demonstrating respect and kindness towards one another. With strong leadership driving academic and personal achievements, the school promotes a broad curriculum that includes a strong focus on reading and personal development. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, leaders have maintained a commitment to ensuring pupils succeed both academically and in their personal growth.

General Makeup

Number of pupils 640
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 52.19%
Girls: 47.81%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 49.1%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 74.5%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 27.4
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 24
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 29.8

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 34 35 69
2 37 40 77
3 54 34 88
4 46 43 89
5 48 42 90
6 50 40 90

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
Indian 25.8%
Pakistani 25.3%
African 11.1%
White, Other 5.3%
Caribbean 3.6%
Mixed, Other 3.1%
White, British 1.6%
Asian, Other 1.1%
White & Asian 0.9%
White & Black (Caribbean) 0.5%
Chinese 0.3%
Unclassified 0.3%
White & Black (African) 0.3%

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
 >  Quality of education Good
  >  Behaviour & Attitude Good
  >  Personal Development Good
  >  Leadership & Management Good
  >  Early Years Provision Good
Last Report Date 21 Jun 2022
Date Report
21 Jun 2022 School inspection:
28 Apr 2015 Full inspection:
10 Nov 2011 Full inspection:
30 Jun 2010 Interim assessment
06 Dec 2006 Full inspection:
04 Mar 2002 Full inspection

Strengths

  • Leaders are ambitious for all pupils and encourage them to 'be their best'.
  • A wealth of clubs and activities supports the development of pupils' talents.
  • Phonics is extremely well taught with staff receiving regular training.
  • Pupils with special educational needs achieve well with appropriate support.
  • The school has a strong focus on personal development and citizenship.

Areas for Improvement

  • The curriculum in science and music needs further development and clearer sequencing.
  • Middle leaders do not fully understand their roles in assessing curriculum impact.
  • Governance routines have slipped due to the impact of COVID-19.

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 68%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 2%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 105
Maths 107

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 3.3
Writing 1.8
Maths 5.2

How many students meet the standards

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Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Sample

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

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2025 Admissions

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 69 0
Third Preference 26 0
From another Local Authority 3 2

Previous Years

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Name Distance
Rookery School
Rookery Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, West Midlands, B21 9PY
0.16 miles
Grove School
Dawson Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, West Midlands, B21 9HB
0.28 miles
St Augustine's Catholic Primary School
Avenue Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, West Midlands, B21 8ED
0.47 miles
St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth
Sandwell Road, Birmingham, West Midlands, B21 8NH
0.52 miles
Oasis Academy Boulton
Boulton Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, West Midlands, B21 0RE
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James Watt Primary School
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0.64 miles
St Marys C of E Primary and Nursery, Academy, Handsworth
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0.75 miles
St Michael's CofE Primary Academy, Handsworth
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0.78 miles
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St Clare's Catholic Primary School
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1 miles
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1.2 miles
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1.21 miles
St Francis Catholic Primary School
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1.24 miles
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Hamilton School
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0.33 miles
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0.34 miles
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1.24 miles
Sandwell Academy
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1.3 miles
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1.48 miles
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1.55 miles
Holte School
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1.6 miles
Birmingham Independent College
Albert Hall, Witton Road, Aston, Birmingham, West Midlands, B6 5NU
1.72 miles
Broadway Academy
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1.76 miles
Sandwell Valley School
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1.77 miles
BOA Stage and Screen Production Academy
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1.83 miles
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