School Chooser

Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School

Primary · ages 5-11MixedAcademyChurch of England571 pupilsLoughboroughLeicestershire
School Chooser Score
57
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 40 to 73
Out of 100. Better than 50% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, February 2025
Reached the expected level at 1155%England 63%
Attendance95.6%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families13%Far fewer than most schools
PlacesFull571 pupils, 420 places
Pupils per teacher20.8School workforce census

Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School is a converter academy in Loughborough for boys and girls aged 5 to 11. It has 571 pupils, 151 more than it has places for. About 13 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 57 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 50% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.

Church Street, Barrow-upon-Soar, Loughborough, LE12 8HP01509 412188hall-orchard.leics.sch.ukMr Steve Dunn headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 25 February 2025, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Outstanding
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

80 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1155%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level4%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score105.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score103.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 77%77%20172018: 78%78%20182019: 76%76%20192023: 72%72%20232024: 76%76%20242025: 55%55%2025
Since 2017: -22%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017LeicestershireEngland
Pupils tested806694796466
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths55%76%72%76%78%77%63%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths4%9%15%15%17%15%6%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score105.0107.0106.0105.0106.0106.0105.9105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score103.0105.0105.0106.0106.0105.0104.9104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score105.0108.0108.0109.0109.0109.0105.6105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard79%85%82%80%84%82%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard68%85%82%87%81%80%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)64%79%82%87%86%86%
Reading progressReading progress score+0.8+0.9+1.4+1.2
Maths progressMaths progress score+1.1+0.9+1.8+0.8
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged19%46%25%54%33%46%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged64%83%79%80%88%85%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 1 of the 4 gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
19%64%
Gap 45 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
49%60%
Gap 11 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
83%55%
Gap 28 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
6%4%
Gap 2 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

A few spare places552 pupils for 630 places, 2024/25
88% full

About 78 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have grown by 5% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Leicestershire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll571Census January 2026
Places420136% full
Pupils from low-income families13%13% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English1%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support13%73 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan2%12 pupils with a plan
Average class size27.817 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils6%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)13%£106,950 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls296 / 275
White British pupils91%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 26.6 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 28.8 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Specific learning difficulty (46), emotional and mental health (22), language and communications needs (6), Physical disability (4), Autistic spectrum disorder (2), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll571552527539517522
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals13%15%15%15%14%15%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language1%2%2%2%2%2%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support13%13%12%8%8%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans1%1%2%2%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.6%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school8.7%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.22024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.5%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.4%4.8%4.6%5.6%2.4%3.5%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.9%3.9%3.7%4.8%1.9%2.6%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.5%0.9%0.9%0.8%0.5%0.9%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence8.7%9.9%10.6%13.6%4.1%6.5%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.20.20.90.00.2
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers27.4full-time equivalent, 33 people
Pupils per teacher20.8Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers91%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants20.4full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£48,285
Teachers who left in the year24%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher4.42024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£6,002England £7,128. Total £3.3m
Income per pupil£6,255England £7,587. Total £3.5m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,879England £3,405
Money in reserve17%A healthy amount put by: £570k, £1,033 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£140kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,002spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m24012 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate67 per 1,000 people27% lower than the England average
Typical house price£275,000Charnwood
Nearest bus stop110 mBeaumont Road, 22 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St Bartholomew's Church of England Primary SchoolChurch of England1.6 miles497Good 202362Compare
Christ Church & Saint Peter's Cofe Primary SchoolAcademy1.8 miles385Good 202338Compare
Sileby Redlands Community Primary SchoolAcademy2.1 miles394No overall grade 202486Compare
Burton-on-the-Wolds Primary SchoolCouncil2.1 miles213No overall grade 202584Compare
Highgate Primary SchoolAcademy2.2 miles219Good 202419Compare
Lift BeaconAcademy2.3 miles379Report card 202664Compare
Seagrave Village Primary SchoolAcademy2.4 miles97No overall grade 202557Compare
Cobden Primary School & Community CentreAcademy2.6 miles400No overall grade 20252Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School with the 44 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 44 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats50%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 57 is 5 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 14 · middle 62 · highest 98100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 44 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Rothley Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy3.4 miles610Good 202281Compare
Newcroft Primary AcademyAcademy5.9 miles442No overall grade 202598Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 57 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 57% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 40 to 73. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%in line
+0.02
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 80 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%above
+0.09
Ofsted grade, 1.5 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.11
DfE progress measure; 80 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%well below
-0.15
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.06
2024/25; 473 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%below
-0.05
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 80 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School a good school?

It is about average. Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School scores 57 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 50% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 40 to 73, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School not judged at its last full inspection on 25 February 2025.

How good are Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 55% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 4% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School have?

571 pupils aged 5 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 420 places, so it is 136% full.

Is Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 78 places were empty in 2024/25 (12% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School?

Pupils were in school 95.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 9% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School?

The average class had 27.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 6% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Church Street, Barrow-upon-Soar, Loughborough, LE12 8HP
Telephone
01509 412188
Website
www.hall-orchard.leics.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mr Steve Dunn
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 5-11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England, Diocese of Leicester
Single-academy trust
Hall Orchard Barrow CE Primary School (1 schools)
Local authority
Leicestershire
Ward
Barrow upon Soar
Constituency
Loughborough
Setting
Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 October 2013 (academy converter)
URN
140230 · LAESTAB 8553008 · UKPRN 10043440
Formerly
Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School

Where these figures come from