Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School

Great Bowden Academy is a caring and ambitious Church of England primary school where pupils feel safe, attend well and achieve well. Inspectors found positive, nurturing relationships and a strong family ethos underpinned by Christian values, with pupils showing good behaviour and positive attitudes to learning. The school has strong provision in early years, reading and mathematics, and pupils benefit from a well-considered personal development offer including clubs, trips and leadership opportunities. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The inspection was the school's first routine section 5 inspection since 2014, as it had previously been exempt after being judged outstanding. It is now part of Learn Academies Trust. Leaders, staff and governance are viewed positively, and staff workload and well-being are carefully considered. The main areas for improvement concern the wider curriculum, where some subjects are new or recently changed and pupils' knowledge is not yet as secure as in more established subjects. Teachers also do not consistently adapt learning precisely enough for some pupils, including some pupils with SEND, which means some learning opportunities are missed.

Strengths

• Positive, nurturing relationships and a strong family ethos supported by Christian values
• Pupils feel safe, enjoy school and attend well
• High ambition for pupils' achievement, with positive attitudes to learning
• Pupils respond well to high expectations of behaviour and are courteous and respectful
• Children get off to a strong start in the Reception Year
• Reading is prioritised, with well-trained staff and carefully matched books
• Mathematics is a strength, with strong fluency, problem solving and reasoning
• Misconceptions are addressed in the moment across subjects
• Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain through personal development
• Staff workload and well-being are carefully considered, with useful trust networking opportunities
• Governance knows the school's strengths and priorities well

Areas for Improvement

• Some wider curriculum subjects are new or recently changed, so pupils' knowledge is less secure
• Learning is not consistently adapted effectively for some pupils, including some pupils with SEND
• Some pupils miss learning opportunities because task adaptation is not precise enough

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 Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School attended 96.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.6% 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, 2.2% of pupils at Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England 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 Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School had 23.3 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

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, 7.3% of pupils at Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.4% 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 2024–25 Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School received £6,648 and spent £6,294 for each of its 138 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £10,000 (-£71 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of Learn Academies Trust, income was £6,955 and spending £6,849 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Market Harborough · Leicestershire local authority: places and applications

Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School is part of Learn Academies Trust, which runs 19 schools. The nearest others:

• Ridgeway Primary Academy Market Harborough
• Meadowdale Primary School Market Harborough
• Market Harborough Church of England Academy Market Harborough
• Lubenham All Saints Church of England Primary School Market Harborough
• Church Langton Church of England Primary School Market Harborough
• Husbands Bosworth Church of England Primary School Lutterworth
• St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, North Kilworth Lutterworth
• South Kilworth Church of England Primary School Lutterworth
• Houghton-on-the-Hill Church of England Primary School Leicester
• All Saints Church of England Primary School Wigston

What is Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School have?

Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School has 137 pupils on roll.

What age range does Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School cover?

Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School?

Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School is at Gunnsbrook Close, Great Bowden, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 7HZ.