School Chooser

Discovery Primary Academy

Primary · ages 4-11MixedAcademy419 pupilsPeterborough
School Chooser Score
30
Below
similar schools
Likely range 18 to 47, so it could be “in line”
Out of 100. Better than 28% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, February 2023
Reached the expected level at 1163%England 63%
Attendance95.0%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families40%Far more than most schools
Places181 spare419 pupils, 600 places
Pupils per teacher19.0School workforce census

Discovery Primary Academy is a converter academy in Peterborough for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 419 pupils and room for 600. About 40 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 30 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 28% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

Mountsteven Avenue, Walton, Peterborough, PE4 6HX01733 325001discoveryprimary.comMs Michelle Siequien headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 22 February 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

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

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1163%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level5%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score104.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score104.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 52%52%20172018: 39%39%20182019: 54%54%20192023: 58%58%20232024: 46%46%20242025: 63%63%2025
Since 2017: +11%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure20252024202320192018†2017†PeterboroughEngland
Pupils tested768789818254
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths63%46%58%54%39%52%64%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths5%0%0%7%5%2%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score104.0101.0103.0102.0100.0102.0104.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score104.0101.0102.0104.0101.0101.0104.4104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score104.0101.0104.0105.0102.0105.0104.6105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard70%57%67%65%49%65%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard74%62%72%70%62%69%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)76%61%71%68%66%61%
Reading progressReading progress score-1.1-2.1-3.0-0.5
Maths progressMaths progress score-0.9-1.1-1.0-1.3
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged58%30%49%32%29%35%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged67%54%65%68%45%65%

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.

† These results are for Discovery Primary School, the school this one replaced in September 2018. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

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. 2 of the 4 gaps are 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
58%67%
Gap 9 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
59%67%
Gap 8 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
74%63%
Gap 11 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
3%5%
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.

Plenty of spare places457 pupils for 630 places, 2024/25
73% full

173 places were empty (28% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 18% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

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 Peterborough 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 roll419Census January 2026
Places60070% full
Pupils from low-income families40%40% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English56%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support16%66 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan4%18 pupils with a plan
Average class size26.011 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils27%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)38%£249,550 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls224 / 195
White British pupils40%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 27.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 28.7 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (32), emotional and mental health (24), Autistic spectrum disorder (15), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (5), Moderate learning difficulty (2), Specific learning difficulty (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll419456503550550558
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals40%39%39%38%36%31%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language56%51%46%44%44%41%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support18%16%15%9%9%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans5%5%4%3%3%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.0%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school15.2%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils3.32024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.0%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.0%6.4%7.2%7.4%4.0%4.0%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.1%5.0%5.8%5.9%3.1%2.8%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.0%1.5%1.5%1.4%0.9%1.2%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence15.2%21.3%26.3%24.1%11.9%9.4%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate3.30.60.70.60.9
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00010

Staff and money

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

Teachers22.0full-time equivalent, 27 people
Pupils per teacher19.0Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers89%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants25.2full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£56,241
Teachers who left in the year25%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher7.22024/25

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£7,625England £7,128. Total £3.5m
Income per pupil£7,717England £7,587. Total £3.5m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,754England £3,405
Money in reserve39%A lot put by: £1.4m, £2,981 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£42kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£7,625spent 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 m43512 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate93 per 1,000 peopleabout the England average

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
Werrington Primary SchoolAcademy0.6 miles382Good 202437Compare
Gunthorpe Primary SchoolAcademy0.6 miles290No overall grade 20256Compare
Lime Academy WatergallAcademy0.7 miles298Requires improvement 202410Compare
Ravensthorpe Primary AcademyAcademy0.7 miles316Requires improvement 20246Compare
Fulbridge AcademyAcademy0.8 miles939Outstanding 202485Compare
Norwood Primary SchoolCouncil0.8 miles200Good 202381Compare
Paston Ridings Primary SchoolCouncil0.9 miles350Good 202457Compare
Eyrescroft Primary SchoolAcademy0.9 miles222Good 202243Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Discovery Primary Academy with the 50 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 50 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats28%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 30 is 21 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 50 · highest 98100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 50 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Discovery Primary Academy, 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
Thorpe Primary AcademyAcademy1.7 miles447Good 202240Compare
Old Fletton Primary SchoolCouncil3.3 miles432Report card 202648Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 30 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 30% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 18 to 47. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. 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%below
-0.13
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 76 pupils
Ofsted inspection19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.6 years old
Progress pupils make20%below
-0.09
DfE progress measure; 76 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%above
+0.06
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
-0.01
2024/25; 429 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%below
-0.09
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 76 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 Discovery Primary Academy a good school?

The figures are weak. Discovery Primary Academy scores 30 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 28% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 18 to 47, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Discovery Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Discovery Primary Academy good at its last full inspection on 22 February 2023.

How good are Discovery Primary Academy's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 63% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 5% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Discovery Primary Academy have?

419 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 600 places, so it is 70% full.

Is Discovery Primary Academy oversubscribed?

Probably not. 173 places were empty in 2024/25 (28% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Discovery Primary Academy?

Pupils were in school 95.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 15% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Discovery Primary Academy?

The average class had 26.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 27% 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
Mountsteven Avenue, Walton, Peterborough, PE4 6HX
Telephone
01733 325001
Website
www.discoveryprimary.com
Headteacher
Ms Michelle Siequien
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Four Cs MAT (7 schools)
Local authority
Peterborough
Ward
Paston and Walton
Constituency
Peterborough
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2018 (academy converter)
URN
145787 · LAESTAB 8743385 · UKPRN 10068502
Formerly
Discovery Primary School

Where these figures come from