Thornhill Primary School

Thornhill Primary is a growing, diverse community primary school where most pupils are happy, safe and behave well. Pupils benefit from a broad and ambitious curriculum, strong reading and phonics provision, effective support for pupils with SEND, and strong outcomes in national tests at the end of Year 6. Personal development is a standout strength: pupils show high levels of respect, take excellent care of each other, and many take on meaningful leadership roles. The school also offers an unusually wide range of electives, such as street dance, crochet, photography and glockenspiel, which pupils clearly value. Leadership is strong, staff development and wellbeing are prioritised, and parents are positive about the school. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main area for improvement is that in a few subjects, teaching is not consistently adapted to meet pupils’ needs, so pupils do not learn and remember as much of the intended curriculum as they could. Attendance is mostly regular, but a small number of pupils still find this difficult; the school is working positively with families to improve it. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is growing from a two-form to a three-form entry primary.

Strengths

• Broad, rich and ambitious curriculum from the early years
• Curriculum is well sequenced, particularly in English and mathematics
• Pupils achieve strong outcomes in national tests and assessments at the end of Year 6
• Staff have strong subject knowledge and create engaging learning opportunities
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported effectively alongside their peers
• Phonics is taught well from Reception and pupils become confident, fluent readers
• A well-resourced library and reading spaces support a strong reading culture
• Pupils are respectful, polite and behave well; staff deal with poor behaviour quickly
• Personal development provision is exemplary, with high levels of respect and care
• Pupils take on substantial leadership roles through the Junior Leadership Team
• An exceptional breadth of electives helps pupils learn and develop new skills
• Staff professional development and wellbeing are prioritised
• Parents are positive about the school and governance is effective
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects, teaching is not always adapted to meet pupils’ needs, so pupils do not learn and remember as much of the curriculum as they could
• A small number of pupils still find regular attendance difficult, although the school is working positively with families to improve this

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Thornhill Primary School attended 95.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Thornhill Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Thornhill Primary School had 21.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.6% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 6.2% of pupils at Thornhill Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Thornhill Primary School received £6,028 and spent £5,584 for each of its 513 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £152,000 (£297 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Dunstable · Central Bedfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Thornhill Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Thornhill Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Thornhill Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Thornhill Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Thornhill Primary School have?

Thornhill Primary School has 516 pupils on roll.

What age range does Thornhill Primary School cover?

Thornhill Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Thornhill Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Thornhill Primary School?

Thornhill Primary School is at Grove Road, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU5 5PE.