Tower Hill Community Primary School

Tower Hill Community Primary School has made significant improvements since its last inspection, now graded as good in all areas. The school's nurturing environment is highlighted as a strong point, with staff showing genuine care for students, and pupils feeling secure and thriving. The leadership has ambitious goals for the school and prioritizes pupil safety and well-being. The curriculum is well-structured, particularly in reading and early years education, helping students confidently develop foundational skills, though it is still evolving in terms of detailed implementation across all subjects.

Strengths

• High standards are set by the leadership and embraced by pupils.
• Celebration of learning from mistakes fosters a positive learning culture.
• Strong emphasis on reading with a well-structured phonics programme.
• Staff are well-trained to support pupils with special educational needs.
• Pupils demonstrate good behavior and are engaged in their learning.
• A variety of extracurricular activities and sports clubs enhance student experience.
• Effective safeguarding measures ensure a safe environment for pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum thinking across some subjects is not yet finalized.
• Implementation of the curriculum lacks consistency and can be variable due to less experienced staff.

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 Tower Hill Community Primary School attended 91.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 23.7% 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, 4.8% of pupils at Tower Hill Community 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 Tower Hill Community Primary School had 19.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.4% 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, 25.9% of pupils at Tower Hill Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.5% 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 Tower Hill Community Primary School received £8,294 and spent £8,118 for each of its 182 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £9,000 (£50 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of River Learning Trust, income was £8,007 and spending £7,763 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 Witney · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

Tower Hill Community Primary School is part of River Learning Trust, which runs 30 schools. The nearest others:

• Witney Community Primary School Witney
• Madley Brook Community Primary School Witney
• Windrush Church of England Primary School Witney
• Edith Moorhouse Primary School Carterton
• Charlbury Primary School
• The Marlborough Church of England School Woodstock
• Wolvercote Primary School Oxford
• Gosford Hill School Kidlington
• Edward Feild Primary School Kidlington
• Cutteslowe Primary School Oxford

What is Tower Hill Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Tower Hill Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2022.

When was Tower Hill Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Tower Hill Community Primary School was last inspected in September 2022.

How many pupils does Tower Hill Community Primary School have?

Tower Hill Community Primary School has 174 pupils on roll.

What age range does Tower Hill Community Primary School cover?

Tower Hill Community Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Tower Hill Community Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 35% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Tower Hill Community Primary School?

Tower Hill Community Primary School is at Moor Avenue, Witney, Oxfordshire, OX28 6NB.