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Whimple Primary School

Primary Ages 4-11 125 pupils Exeter
Ofsted: Good
All schools in Exeter

Whimple Primary School is a community school in Exeter for pupils aged 4 to 11. It has 125 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Whimple Primary School is Good, from an inspection in February 2023. In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Ofsted inspection: February 2023. KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Community school
Age Range 4-11
Religion Does not apply
Address Whimple
Exeter
Devon
EX5 2TS
Phone 01404822584
Reference Number 113113

General Makeup

Number of pupils 125
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 48.8%
Girls: 51.2%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 5.6%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 1.6%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 25
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 28
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 23.3

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 5 12 17
2 10 9 19
3 6 7 13
4 8 9 17
5 9 10 19
6 13 8 21

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 93.6%
White, Other 2.4%
African 1.6%
Mixed, Other 0.8%
Pakistani 0.8%

Whimple Primary School continues to perform well, maintaining its status as a good school. The pupils are enthusiastic learners, demonstrating positive behavior and strong relationships with staff and peers. A notable strength is the emphasis on emotional well-being and the effective support provided to pupils, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities. The school community, including parents, expresses high levels of satisfaction regarding the quality of education and pastoral care provided.

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
Last Report Date 13 Dec 2022
Date Report
13 Dec 2022 School inspection
18 Oct 2017 Short inspection
06 Nov 2013 Full inspection:
09 Nov 2010 Full inspection:
04 Oct 2007 Full inspection:
09 Jun 2003 Full inspection

Strengths

  • Pupils demonstrate kindness, politeness, and a love for learning.
  • Strong relationships between staff and pupils create a supportive environment.
  • Effective support is provided for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
  • Reading is prioritized, contributing to pupils' overall learning success.
  • Well-structured history curriculum supports the development of knowledge.
  • Pupils engage in a variety of extracurricular activities and clubs.

Areas for Improvement

  • Some subjects lack a well-structured curriculum, affecting knowledge retention.

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 58%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 0%

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 106
Maths 104

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 1.1
Writing -1.6
Maths -0.9

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.

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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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Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 13 2
Third Preference 12 1
From another Local Authority 0 0

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Whimple Primary School had 137 pupils for 139 places. 2 places (1.4%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Clyst Vale Learning Community Primary” planning area

Devon counted 220 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 192 in 2029–30, down 13%.

201020112012201320142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Places 142142142139139139139139139139139139139139139
Pupils 103100106111116132137137141147131133128136137
Unfilled 27.5%29.6%25.4%20.1%16.5%5.0%1.4%1.4%0.0%0.0%5.8%4.3%7.9%2.2%1.4%

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 Whimple Primary School attended 95.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

20142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Authorised absence 3.5%3.2%3.2%2.3%2.4%2.3%1.6%5.7%3.9%3.7%3.5%
Unauthorised absence 0.6%0.6%0.4%0.5%0.4%0.4%0.2%0.3%0.9%1.2%1.1%
Severely absent pupils 0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.8%0.8%2.5%

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, 0.8% of pupils at Whimple Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

2010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 0.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.70.00.85.60.00.8
Permanent exclusions 0000000000000000

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 Whimple Primary School had 18.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

2011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 12.713.915.213.014.114.314.213.014.514.613.111.011.413.39.58.8
Teachers who left state teaching 0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%43.3%0.0%0.0%9.8%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 40.0%60.0%80.0%66.7%50.0%50.0%50.0%57.1%14.3%––88.9%50.0%–20.0%–
Sick days per teacher 2.01.66.28.54.39.413.82.10.4––3.71.2–0.3–

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, 15.2% of pupils at Whimple Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
No specialist assessment of need 7 0
Speech, language and communication needs 5 0
Autistic spectrum disorder 1 3
Specific learning difficulty 3 0
Hearing impairment 2 0
Physical disability 0 1
Social, emotional and mental health 1 0

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 2023–24 Whimple Primary School received £5,493 and spent £5,776 for each of its 139 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £72,000 (£521 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

201920202021202220232024
Revenue reserve £87,000£122,000£162,000£159,000£112,000£72,000
per pupil £590£856£1,206£1,204£886£521
In-year balance £42,000£36,000£39,000-£3,000-£47,000-£39,000
per pupil £284£249£293-£21-£374-£282

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

Name Distance
Rockbeare Church of England Primary School and Pre-School
Rockbeare, Exeter, Devon, EX5 2EQ
2.17 miles
West Hill Primary School
Beech Park, West Hill, Ottery St Mary, Devon, EX11 1UQ
2.64 miles
Clyst Hydon Primary School
Clyst Hydon, Cullompton, Devon, EX15 2ND
2.71 miles
St Martin's CofE Primary & Nursery School
Younghayes Road, Cranbrook, Exeter, Devon, EX5 7DT
2.92 miles
Plymtree Church of England Primary School
Plymtree, Cullompton, Devon, EX15 2JU
3.49 miles
Feniton Church of England Primary School
Station Road, Feniton, Honiton, Devon, EX14 3EA
3.6 miles
Broadclyst Community Primary School
School Lane, Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon, EX5 3JG
3.76 miles
Payhembury Church of England Primary School
Payhembury, Devon County Council, Exeter, Devon, EX14 3HT
3.77 miles
Ottery St Mary Primary School
Longdogs Lane, Ottery St Mary, Devon, EX11 1HY
3.91 miles
Tipton St John Church of England Primary School
Tipton St John, Sidmouth, Devon, EX10 0AG
4.36 miles
The Duchy School Bradninch
Bowley Meadow, Townlands, Bradninch, Exeter, Devon, EX5 4RF
4.89 miles
Name Distance
Cranbrook Education Campus
Tillhouse Road, Cranbrook, Cranbrook Education Campus, Exeter, Devon, EX5 7EE
2.1 miles
The Wildings
Royston Farm, Talaton, Exeter, Devon, EX5 2RR
2.51 miles
The King's School
Cadhay Lane, Ottery St Mary, Devon, EX11 1RA
3.02 miles
Clyst Vale Community College
Station Road, Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon, EX5 3AJ
3.72 miles

All schools in Exeter · Devon local authority: places and applications

What is Whimple Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Whimple Primary School is Good, from an inspection in February 2023.

When was Whimple Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Whimple Primary School was last inspected in February 2023.

How many pupils does Whimple Primary School have?

Whimple Primary School has 125 pupils on roll.

What age range does Whimple Primary School cover?

Whimple Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Whimple Primary School?

Whimple Primary School is at Whimple, Exeter, Devon, EX5 2TS.

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