Bowerhill Primary School

Bowerhill Primary School has demonstrated overall good performance since its last inspection that required improvement. The school fosters a safe and inclusive environment where pupils feel valued and engaged in their education. Leadership is strong, with a clear vision to help every child succeed, while pupils exhibit positive behavior and a commitment to their learning. The curriculum has been enhanced, particularly in reading, where staff's effective teaching facilitates a love for literature and a culture of reading among the students. While progress has been made, some areas for improvement remain, particularly in newer subjects where knowledge retention could be stronger.

Strengths

• Strong relationships between staff and pupils promote a sense of safety and belonging.
• Pupils display pride and responsibility in their roles within the school.
• Reading is prioritized, and pupils show a deep love for literature.
• Curriculum is designed to meet the diverse needs of all pupils, including those with SEND.
• Pupils enjoy a wide variety of enriching experiences outside the classroom.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' recall of knowledge in some recently developed subjects is less secure.
• Agreed teaching strategies are not consistently implemented across all subjects.

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 Bowerhill Primary School attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.8% 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, 2.7% of pupils at Bowerhill 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 Bowerhill Primary School had 22.1 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, 21.7% of pupils at Bowerhill 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

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 Bowerhill Primary School received £6,043 and spent £6,108 for each of its 401 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £249,000 (£622 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of The White Horse Federation, income was £7,712 and spending £7,474 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 Melksham · Wiltshire local authority: places and applications

Bowerhill Primary School is part of The White Horse Federation, which runs 30 schools. The nearest others:

• Melksham Oak Community School Melksham
• Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School Melksham
• The Manor CofE VC Primary School Melksham
• St George's Church of England Primary School, Semington Trowbridge
• Seend Church of England Primary School Melksham
• St Mary's Broughton Gifford Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School Melksham
• Shaw CE Primary School Melksham
• Southbroom Infants' School Devizes
• Devizes School Devizes
• Larkhill Primary School Salisbury

What is Bowerhill Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bowerhill Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2024.

When was Bowerhill Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bowerhill Primary School was last inspected in July 2024.

How many pupils does Bowerhill Primary School have?

Bowerhill Primary School has 378 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bowerhill Primary School cover?

Bowerhill Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 65% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bowerhill Primary School?

Bowerhill Primary School is at Halifax Road, Melksham, Wiltshire, SN12 6YH.