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Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School

Primary Ages 2-11 341 pupils Cheltenham
Ofsted: Expected standard

Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School is an academy converter in Cheltenham (Cotswold) for pupils aged 2 to 11. It has 341 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in April 2026. In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Ofsted inspection: April 2026. KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Academy converter
Age Range 2-11
Religion Does not apply
Address School Hill
Bourton-on-the-Water
Cheltenham
Gloucestershire
GL54 2AW
Phone 01451820458
Reference Number 139291

General Makeup

Number of pupils 341
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 50.73%
Girls: 49.27%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 13.8%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 12%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 26.3
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 27.3
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 25.2

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 20 14 34
2 16 19 35
3 12 22 34
4 24 22 46
5 21 33 54
6 21 22 43

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 69.8%
Unclassified 12%
White, Other 11.4%
White & Asian 2.3%
Asian, Other 1.2%
Mixed, Other 0.6%
White & Black (Caribbean) 0.3%
Chinese 0.3%
White & Black (African) 0.3%
African 0.3%
Irish 0.3%

Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School demonstrates a strong overall performance, marked by a welcoming ethos and a commitment to high expectations for pupil attendance and behavior. Safeguarding measures are robust, ensuring that pupils feel safe and supported. The personal development curriculum is effective, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs, promoting a culture of respect, resilience, and mental well-being. The school is diligently working to improve academic standards across the curriculum, with most pupils reaching expected outcomes in core subjects by the end of Year 6. While the school has many strengths, there are also areas requiring attention, particularly in ensuring consistent teaching methodologies and the application of support strategies across all staff. The leadership team shows high ambition for continuous improvement and prioritizes staff well-being alongside pupil development. The recent tracking of inclusion and support for disadvantaged pupils remains crucial as the school aims to close performance gaps and enhance educational outcomes for all students.

Overall Ofsted Rating Expected standard
 >  Leadership & Governance Expected standard
 >  Personal Development & Wellbeing Strong standard
 >  Achievement Expected standard
 >  Attendance & Behaviour Strong standard
 >  Curriculum & Teaching Expected standard
 >  Inclusion Expected standard
 >  Early Years Expected standard
Last Report Date 03 Feb 2026
Date Report
03 Feb 2026 School inspection
13 Oct 2021 School inspection
17 May 2016 Short inspection
01 Feb 2013 Academy conversion letter
08 Nov 2011 Full inspection:
Previously as Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School
24 Nov 2010 Curriculum and development visit
20 May 2009 Full inspection:
16 Oct 2000 Full inspection

Strengths

  • Warm, welcoming ethos that encourages regular attendance.
  • Strong leadership with clear expectations for behavior.
  • Effective personal development curriculum supporting all pupils.
  • Good partnership work with external agencies for mental health support.
  • Inclusive practices cater effectively to disadvantaged and SEND pupils.
  • High-quality early years provision promotes lifelong learning skills.
  • Strong community links and enriched extracurricular experiences.

Areas for Improvement

  • Occasional teaching does not match pupils' precise needs closely enough.
  • Inconsistent application of support strategies for pupils with SEND.

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 61%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 11%

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 0.9
Writing 2.6
Maths 1.1

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 6 0
Third Preference 6 0
From another Local Authority 0 0

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School had 283 pupils for 315 places. 32 places (10.2%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Bourton On The Water Primary” planning area

Gloucestershire counted 90 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 77 in 2029–30, down 14%.

201320142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Places 210210210210210259259315315315315315
Pupils 223229224231248252253280292291277283
Unfilled 0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%2.7%2.3%11.1%7.3%7.6%12.1%10.2%

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 Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

20142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Authorised absence 2.1%1.8%1.9%2.1%2.4%2.2%1.9%4.7%4.1%4.3%3.9%
Unauthorised absence 1.0%0.7%0.8%0.9%1.1%1.1%1.4%2.2%2.3%2.3%1.5%
Severely absent pupils 0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.4%1.5%3.8%1.2%

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, 0.7% of pupils at Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 0.40.50.00.00.00.00.00.40.40.72.91.1
Permanent exclusions 000000000000

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 Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School had 25.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.4% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

2014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 9.69.710.210.310.510.210.511.110.810.38.89.910.7
Teachers who left state teaching 7.7%0.0%7.3%12.9%1.6%7.4%0.0%0.0%0.0%6.7%19.6%7.4%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 77.8%72.2%72.2%64.7%75.0%56.3%–77.8%78.9%55.0%54.5%50.0%–
Sick days per teacher 6.614.67.33.82.82.3–7.75.92.43.03.3–

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, 17.6% of pupils at Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Moderate learning difficulty 16 2
No specialist assessment of need 15 0
Specific learning difficulty 14 1
Social, emotional and mental health 11 2
Speech, language and communication needs 2 3
Autistic spectrum disorder 0 1
Hearing impairment 1 0
Vision impairment 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 2024–25 Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School received £7,715 and spent £7,460 for each of its 274 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £170,000 (£620 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

2019202020212022202320242025
Revenue reserve £15,000£37,000£37,000£122,000£121,000£149,000£170,000
per pupil £61£146£134£431£417£534£620
In-year balance £3,000£21,000£0£87,000£16,000£58,000£70,000
per pupil £12£83£0£307£55£208£255

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.

Name Distance
Cold Aston Church of England Primary School
Cold Aston, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL54 3BN
2.48 miles
Swell Church of England Primary School
Lower Swell, Cotswold, Gloucestershire, GL54 1LH
2.78 miles
The Rissington School
Mitchell Way, Upper Rissington, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL54 2PL
3.12 miles
Stow-on-the-Wold Primary School
St Edward's Drive, Stow-on-the-Wold, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL54 1AW
3.55 miles
Sherborne Church of England Primary School
Sherborne, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL54 3DH
4.09 miles
Name Distance
The Cotswold Academy
The Avenue, Bourton-on-the-Water, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL54 2BD
0.13 miles

All schools in Cheltenham (Cotswold) · Gloucestershire local authority: places and applications

What is Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in April 2026.

When was Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School was last inspected in April 2026.

How many pupils does Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School have?

Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School has 341 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School cover?

Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School?

Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School is at School Hill, Bourton-on-the-Water, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL54 2AW.

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