Kids across the country are enjoying their last days of summer freedom, before they head back to school.
Many younger children will also be starting for the first time, at a brand new primary school. It’d only be natural for them and their parents to feel a little anxious about what will no doubt be a big change to their lives.
But in a region as vast as the East Midlands, much of the time there were multiple local schools to choose from - each with their own strengths and weaknesses - and families will no doubt be left wondering whether they have made the right choice for their child.
We’ve created a league table to highlight some of the region’s best state primary schools, based on two key metrics. The first is the percentage of its pupils who completed the national curriculum’s key stage 2 in the 2022/23 school year (the most recent data available), and met the expected standards for reading, writing and maths. We’ve selected only schools which surpassed both the national and local authority area’s averages, and had at least 85% of their pupils achieve the government-set target.
The next is schools rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted - meaning the quality of education provided, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and student safeguarding have all been found to be excellent.
Many smaller, local village and faith schools were able to prove just how brightly they shine. But even larger schools in centres like Nottingham and Derby, with more students from more diverse backgrounds to get across the goalpost, managed to earn themselves a spot.
Here were the East Midlands’ 22 ‘super schools’ that topped the list:
9. Brocks Hill Primary School
Brocks Hill is a primary school in Oadby, South Leicester. In the 2022/23 academic year, 90% of its pupils met the expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared to an average of 62% locally and 60% nationally. | Google
10. Mapplewells Primary and Nursery School
Mapplewells is a primary school in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. It has a larger roll size of nearly 350 pupils. In the 2022/23 academic year, 90% of its pupils met the expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared to an average of 60% both locally and nationally. | Google
11. Morley Primary School
This is a primary school in Morley, Derbyshire. In the 2022/23 academic year, it too had 90% of its pupils meet the expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared to an average of 59% locally and 60% nationally. | Google
12. The Hackthorn Church of England Primary School
This is an Anglican primary school in the Hackthorn Cliff area, north of Lincoln in Lincolnshire. In the 2022/23 academic year, 89% of its pupils met the expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared to an average of 56% locally and 60% nationally. | Google