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High Down Junior School

Primary Ages 7-11 328 pupils Bristol
All schools in Bristol

High Down Junior School is an academy converter in Bristol for pupils aged 7 to 11. It has 328 pupils on roll. In 2025, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. It has fewer teachers for its size than most primary schools: 26.3 pupils for each teacher in 2025/26, against 20.7 nationally.

KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Academy converter
Age Range 7-11
Religion Does not apply
Address Down Road
Portishead
Bristol
Somerset
BS20 6DY
Phone 01275843969
Reference Number 143286

General Makeup

Number of pupils 328
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 56.4%
Girls: 43.6%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 9.5%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 4.3%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 29.8
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 29.8

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
3 36 28 64
4 52 38 90
5 45 42 87
6 52 35 87

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 88.7%
White, Other 4.9%
Mixed, Other 2.1%
Asian, Other 1.2%
White & Black (Caribbean) 0.6%
Chinese 0.3%
White & Asian 0.3%
Indian 0.3%
Unclassified 0.3%
White & Black (African) 0.3%
African 0.3%
Irish 0.3%

Overall Ofsted Rating
Last Report Date 05 Nov 2024 – no overall grade published for this inspection
Date Report
05 Nov 2024 School inspection
08 May 2019 Short inspection
06 Sep 2016 Academy conversion letter
01 Dec 2015 Full inspection:
Previously as High Down Junior School
24 Jan 2014 Monitoring visit
06 Nov 2013 Full inspection:
22 Nov 2011 Full inspection:
01 Mar 2011 Curriculum and development visit
19 May 2009 Full inspection:
14 Mar 2007 Monitoring visit
07 Mar 2006 Full inspection:
27 Mar 2000 Full inspection

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 72%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 13%

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 107
Maths 107

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 0.1
Maths -0.2

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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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 High Down Junior School had 336 pupils for 360 places. 24 places (6.7%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Gordano/Pill A Primary” planning area

North Somerset counted 273 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 224 in 2029–30, down 18%.

20172018201920212022202320242025
Places 390390420420420360360360
Pupils 387387416385369343340336
Unfilled 0.8%0.8%1.0%8.3%12.1%4.7%5.6%6.7%

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 High Down Junior School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

20172018201920212022202320242025
Authorised absence 2.8%2.8%2.5%2.2%4.7%3.4%3.9%3.1%
Unauthorised absence 0.5%1.0%0.9%0.4%0.8%1.2%1.2%1.4%
Severely absent pupils 0.3%0.3%0.2%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.3%0.3%

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 High Down Junior School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

201720182019202020212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 2.31.31.40.30.00.00.01.20.0
Permanent exclusions 110000000

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 High Down Junior School had 26.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 15.216.318.316.614.514.314.813.913.513.1
Teachers who left state teaching 12.5%24.8%9.2%0.0%2.6%0.0%12.6%1.4%7.0%–
Teachers who took any sick leave –75.0%63.2%–42.1%73.7%31.6%77.8%55.6%–
Sick days per teacher –6.83.3–1.412.80.81.41.2–

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, 6.4% of pupils at High Down Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Social, emotional and mental health 13 4
Specific learning difficulty 6 3
Speech, language and communication needs 2 4
Autistic spectrum disorder 0 2
Moderate learning difficulty 0 2

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 High Down Junior School received £5,965 and spent £5,988 for each of its 341 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £95,000 (£280 per pupil).

Across all 33 schools of Lighthouse Schools Partnership, income was £6,883 and spending £6,752 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

2019202020212022202320242025
Revenue reserve £113,000£136,000£100,000£86,000£108,000£120,000£95,000
per pupil £270£351£258£235£316£350£280
In-year balance -£63,000-£42,000-£71,000£53,000£106,000£76,000-£8,000
per pupil -£152-£107-£185£144£309£223-£24

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
High Down Infant School
Down Road, Portishead, Somerset, BS20 6DY
0.03 miles
St Peter's Church of England Primary School
Hallett's Way, Portishead, Somerset, BS20 6BT
0.9 miles
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
Bristol Road, Bristol Rd, Portishead, Somerset, BS20 6QB
1.04 miles
Portishead Primary School
Station Road, Portishead, Somerset, BS20 7DB
1.18 miles
Trinity Anglican-Methodist Primary School
Marjoram Way, Portishead, Bristol, BS20 7JF
1.5 miles
Tickenham Church of England Primary School
174 Clevedon Road, Tickenham, Clevedon, Somerset, BS21 6RG
2.59 miles
The Downs Preparatory School
Charlton Drive, Bristol, BS48 1PF
2.84 miles
Kingshill Church School
Pound Lane, Nailsea, Somerset, BS48 2NP
3.05 miles
St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Portbury
Church Lane, Portbury, Bristol, Somerset, BS20 7TR
3.1 miles
All Saints Church of England Primary School
All Saints Lane, Clevedon, Somerset, BS21 6AU
3.45 miles
Golden Valley Primary School
Nailsea Park, Nailsea, Bristol, Somerset, BS48 1BB
3.66 miles
St Nicholas Chantry Church of England Primary School
Highdale Avenue, Clevedon, Somerset, BS21 7LT
3.78 miles
Grove Junior School
Whiteoak Way, Nailsea, Somerset, BS48 4YZ
3.88 miles
Hannah More Infant School
White Oak Way, Nailsea, Somerset, BS48 4YZ
3.9 miles
St Francis Catholic Primary School
Station Road, Nailsea, Somerset, BS48 4PD
3.91 miles
Crockerne Church of England Primary School
Westward Drive, Pill, Bristol, BS20 0JP
4.27 miles
Avonmouth Church of England Primary School and Nursery
Catherine Street, Avonmouth, Bristol, BS11 9LG
4.3 miles
Yeo Moor Primary School
Yeo Moor Primary School, Kennaway Road, Clevedon, Somerset, BS21 6JL
4.33 miles
Shirehampton Primary School
St Mary's Walk, Shirehampton, Bristol, BS11 9RR
4.57 miles
Nova Primary School
Barracks Lane, Shirehampton, Bristol, BS11 9NG
4.66 miles
Name Distance
Gordano School
St Mary's Road, Portishead, Bristol, BS20 7QR
0.81 miles
Lime Hills Academy
Pound Lane, Nailsea, BS48 2NN
3.04 miles
Ravenswood School
Pound Lane, Nailsea, Bristol, BS48 2NN
3.05 miles
Clevedon School
Valley Road, Clevedon, Somerset, BS21 6AH
3.3 miles
Nailsea School
Mizzymead Road, Nailsea, Bristol, Somerset, BS48 2HN
3.68 miles
Seven Hills
80b Kenn Road, Clevedon, North Somerset, BS21 6EX
4.2 miles
St Katherine's School
Pill Road, Ham Green, Bristol, Somerset, BS20 0HU
4.75 miles
Backwell School
Station Road, Backwell, Bristol, BS48 3BX
4.85 miles
Oasis Academy Brightstowe
Penpole Lane, Shirehampton, Bristol, BS11 0EB
4.98 miles

All schools in Bristol · North Somerset local authority: places and applications

High Down Junior School is part of Lighthouse Schools Partnership, which runs 33 schools. The nearest others:

How many pupils does High Down Junior School have?

High Down Junior School has 328 pupils on roll.

What age range does High Down Junior School cover?

High Down Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are High Down Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is High Down Junior School?

High Down Junior School is at Down Road, Portishead, Bristol, Somerset, BS20 6DY.

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