Isambard Kingdom Brunel Primary School
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Isambard Kingdom Brunel Primary School is a free school in Wellington for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 278 pupils and room for 472. About 12 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 91 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 86% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.
Thomas Place, Wellington, TA21 8FP01823 795900ikb.bep.acMr Andrew Wootton headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 23 May 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
251 places were empty (60% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have grown by 186% since 2021/22.
How places were given out for September 2023.
| Entry | Places | Applied at all | Got a place | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Primary | 30 | 74 | 30 | – | LA |
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.
Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 25.4 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.3 (England 27.3).
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (9), emotional and mental health (5), Physical disability (3), Autistic spectrum disorder (2), Multi-sensory impairment (2), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 278 | 231 | 180 | 145 | 119 | 46 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 10% | 10% | 9% | 8% | 7% | 9% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 10% | 10% | 11% | 9% | 6% | 7% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 7% | 6% | 6% | 6% | 7% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 0% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 3.3% | 3.2% | 3.6% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 2.4% | 2.2% | 2.9% | 4.4% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 0.9% | 1.0% | 0.7% | 0.7% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 3.3% | 3.3% | 3.5% | 13.3% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.4 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
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.
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
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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St John's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 440 m | 219 | Good 2023 | 28 | Compare |
| Beech Grove Primary School | Council | 800 m | 244 | Good 2022 | 24 | Compare |
| Wellesley Park Primary School | Academy | 0.9 miles | 271 | Report card 2026 | 51 | Compare |
| Rockwell Green Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 1.0 miles | 198 | Good 2023 | 39 | Compare |
| Langford Budville Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 2.1 miles | 32 | Good 2024 | 16 | Compare |
| West Buckland Primary School | Academy | 2.3 miles | 135 | Good 2022 | 59 | Compare |
| Sampford Arundel Community Primary School | Council | 2.5 miles | 43 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Oake, Bradford and Nynehead VC Primary | Church of England | 2.8 miles | 67 | No overall grade 2024 | 9 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Isambard Kingdom Brunel Primary School with the 49 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 49 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 91 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 91% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 79 to 97. 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 at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Ofsted inspection | 19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | in line | +0.02 | Ofsted grade, 3.3 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | well above | +0.42 | results and attendance rising year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | well above | +0.29 | 2024/25; 120 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 0% | 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 Isambard Kingdom Brunel Primary School a good school?
Yes, going by the figures. Isambard Kingdom Brunel Primary School scores 91 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 86% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 79 to 97, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been getting better over the last five years.
What is Isambard Kingdom Brunel Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Isambard Kingdom Brunel Primary School good at its last full inspection on 23 May 2023.
How many pupils does Isambard Kingdom Brunel Primary School have?
278 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 472 places, so it is 59% full.
Is Isambard Kingdom Brunel Primary School oversubscribed?
Probably not. 251 places were empty in 2024/25 (60% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at Isambard Kingdom Brunel Primary School?
Pupils were in school 96.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 3% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Isambard Kingdom Brunel Primary School?
The average class had 26.9 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class 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
- Thomas Place, Wellington, TA21 8FP
- Telephone
- 01823 795900
- Website
- www.ikb.bep.ac
- Headteacher
- Mr Andrew Wootton
- Type of school
- Free school (Free schools, free schools)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 2-11, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- Blackdown Education Partnership (14 schools)
- Local authority
- Somerset
- Ward
- Wellington
- Constituency
- Taunton and Wellington
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2020 (new provision)
- URN
- 147842 · LAESTAB 9332050 · UKPRN 10086473
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Somerset council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2023.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.