School Chooser

Knowle Church of England Primary Academy

Primary · ages 3-11MixedAcademyChurch of England468 pupilsNurserySolihull
School Chooser Score
91
Well above
similar schools
Likely range 84 to 95
Out of 100. Better than 70% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, October 2023
Reached the expected level at 1173%England 63%
Attendance96.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families8%Far fewer than most schools
Places12 spare468 pupils, 480 places
Pupils per teacher21.4School workforce census

Knowle Church of England Primary Academy is a converter academy in Solihull for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 468 pupils and room for 480. About 8 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 70% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

Kixley Lane, Knowle, Solihull, B93 0JE01564 776209knowle.solihull.sch.ukMr Matthew Stonehill principalAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 17 October 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”
Outstanding
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1173%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level22%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score109.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score108.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 87%87%20172018: 71%71%20182019: 70%70%20192023: 73%73%20232024: 83%83%20242025: 73%73%2025
Since 2017: -14%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017SolihullEngland
Pupils tested606089605960
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths73%83%73%70%71%87%69%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths22%22%16%15%15%18%13%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score109.0110.0109.0106.0106.0110.0106.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score108.0110.0109.0107.0106.0108.0106.1104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score108.0111.0109.0109.0108.0109.0106.7105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard80%95%89%77%78%98%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard87%92%92%83%86%93%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)75%90%75%85%88%88%
Reading progressReading progress score+3.1-1.0-1.1+2.7
Maths progressMaths progress score+3.3-0.6-0.9+0.4
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged29%42%25%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged79%94%78%

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 3 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
29%79%
Gap 50 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
74%71%
Gap 3 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%22%
Gap 22 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 places416 pupils for 450 places, 2024/25
92% full

About 34 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have fallen by 8% 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 Solihull 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 roll468Census January 2026
Places48098% full
Pupils from low-income families8%8% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English8%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support8%37 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan2%9 pupils with a plan
Average class size31.215 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils7%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)7%£48,050 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls248 / 220
White British pupils74%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 29.8 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.9 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (14), emotional and mental health (10), Moderate learning difficulty (5), Other difficulty or disability (5), Specific learning difficulty (4), Hearing impairment (3).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll468470474505505501
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals8%8%9%7%7%8%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language8%6%5%6%5%3%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support10%9%10%9%8%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans1%1%2%1%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school4.2%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils1.92024/25, 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 absence3.3%3.7%3.7%5.2%2.0%2.6%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence2.7%3.1%3.1%4.6%1.7%2.3%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.5%0.6%0.6%0.6%0.3%0.3%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence4.2%6.4%5.8%9.9%2.8%2.8%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate1.91.30.20.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers21.2full-time equivalent, 23 people
Pupils per teacher21.4Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants13.5full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£51,321
Teachers who left in the year3%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.42024/25

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£5,685England £7,128. Total £2.5m
Income per pupil£6,589England £7,587. Total £2.9m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,038England £3,405
Money in reserve4%Not much put by: £123k, £276 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£402kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£5,685spent 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 m13212 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate39 per 1,000 people57% lower than the England average
Typical house price£328,000Solihull

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 George and St Teresa Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy1.0 miles176Good 202481Compare
Bentley Heath Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy1.1 miles324Good 202385Compare
Dorridge Primary SchoolAcademy1.2 miles702No overall grade 202494Compare
Lady Katherine Leveson Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy1.6 miles146Good 202378Compare
St Alphege Church of England Junior SchoolChurch of England2.2 miles252No overall grade 202593Compare
Monkspath Junior and Infant SchoolCouncil2.3 miles703Report card 202690Compare
St Alphege Church of England Infant and Nursery SchoolChurch of England2.3 miles152No overall grade 202593Compare
Tudor Grange Primary Academy Yew TreeAcademy2.6 miles256Good 202482Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Knowle Church of England 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.

Beats70%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 91 is 10 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 24 · middle 81 · 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 Knowle Church of England 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
Coppice Primary SchoolFoundation13.7 miles415Not inspected97Compare

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: 84 to 95. 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%well above
+0.29
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 60 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 2.9 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.16
DfE progress measure; 60 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
+0.01
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well above
+0.13
2024/25; 361 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well above
+0.11
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 60 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 Knowle Church of England Primary Academy a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Knowle Church of England Primary Academy scores 91 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 70% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 84 to 95, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Knowle Church of England Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Knowle Church of England Primary Academy good at its last full inspection on 17 October 2023.

How good are Knowle Church of England Primary Academy's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 73% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 22% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Knowle Church of England Primary Academy have?

468 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 480 places, so it is 98% full.

Is Knowle Church of England Primary Academy oversubscribed?

Probably not. 34 places were empty in 2024/25 (8% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Knowle Church of England Primary Academy?

Pupils were in school 96.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 4% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Knowle Church of England Primary Academy?

The average class had 31.2 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 7% 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
Kixley Lane, Knowle, Solihull, B93 0JE
Telephone
01564 776209
Website
www.knowle.solihull.sch.uk
Principal
Mr Matthew Stonehill
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England, Diocese of Birmingham
Single-academy trust
Knowle Church of England Primary Academy (1 schools)
Local authority
Solihull
Ward
Knowle
Constituency
Meriden and Solihull East
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 April 2013 (academy converter)
URN
139457 · LAESTAB 3343012 · UKPRN 10041002
Formerly
Knowle Church of England Primary School

Where these figures come from