School Chooser

Merridale Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedAcademy240 pupilsNursery Free breakfast clubWolverhampton
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredThere isn't enough published data yet. To get a score, a school needs results or an inspection plus at least one other figure.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, May 2024
Reached the expected level at 1171%England 63%
Attendance94.4%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families47%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull240 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher18.5School workforce census

Merridale Primary School is a converter academy in Wolverhampton for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 240 pupils, 30 more than it has places for. About 47 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Aspen Way, Wolverhampton, WV3 0UP01902 558760merridaleprimary.co.ukMrs Laura Towle headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 9 May 2024 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

28 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. These are the results of Merridale Primary School, the school this one replaced.

Reached the expected level at 1171%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level7%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score108.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score105.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 55%55%20172018: 73%73%20182019: 81%81%20192023: 73%73%20232024: 72%72%20242025: 71%71%2025
Since 2017: +16%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure2025†2024†2023†2019†2018†2017†WolverhamptonEngland
Pupils tested282930273029
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths71%72%73%81%73%55%66%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths7%7%13%15%3%7%11%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score108.0108.0108.0107.0107.0104.0105.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score105.0106.0105.0106.0106.0104.0104.3104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score107.0109.0109.0110.0109.0107.0105.9105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard96%90%97%93%87%59%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard93%76%83%93%87%83%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)75%79%73%81%77%83%
Reading progressReading progress score+5.1+4.8+4.9+1.7
Maths progressMaths progress score+3.0+2.6+4.1+2.2
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged57%73%58%82%62%36%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged86%72%83%81%82%67%

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 Merridale Primary School, the school this one replaced in September 2025. 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. None of the 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
57%86%
Gap 29 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
50%88%
Gap 38 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
65%71%
Gap 6 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%7%
Gap 7 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.

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 Wolverhampton council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll240Census January 2026
Places210114% full
Pupils from low-income families41%47% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English71%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support24%58 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%8 pupils with a plan
Average class size23.97 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)49%£156,550 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls114 / 126
White British pupils12%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 30.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.0 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Moderate learning difficulty (19), language and communications needs (18), emotional and mental health (11), Specific learning difficulty (9), Autistic spectrum disorder (7), Other difficulty or disability (2).

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.4% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.4%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school14.2%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Missed without permission2.2%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/25†2023/24†2022/23†2021/22†2020/21†2018/19†England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.6%5.6%5.5%6.7%3.8%4.0%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.3%2.8%2.9%3.3%3.0%3.1%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.2%2.8%2.6%3.4%0.8%0.8%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence14.2%18.2%11.1%20.9%12.6%8.5%12.8%

† These attendance figures are for Merridale Primary School, the school this one replaced in September 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Staff and money

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

Teachers12.2full-time equivalent, 14 people
Pupils per teacher18.5Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants10.6full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£53,330
Vacancies0

Money

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

Spend per pupil£7,255England £7,738. Total £1.7m
Income per pupil£7,596England £7,697. Total £1.7m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,443England £3,480
Money in reserve11%A healthy amount put by: £185k, £811 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£78kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£7,255spent 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 m51212 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate284 per 1,000 people212% higher than the England average
Typical house price£217,500Wolverhampton

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
Bantock Primary SchoolAcademy440 m434Good 2022Compare
Nishkam Primary School WolverhamptonFree school470 m418Good 202095Compare
Graiseley Primary SchoolCouncil0.6 miles230Requires improvement 20246Compare
St Jude's Church of England Primary AcademyAcademy0.7 miles490Report card 202686Compare
The Royal School, WolverhamptonFree school0.7 miles1,488Not inspected51Compare
West Park Primary SchoolCouncil0.8 miles278Good 202482Compare
Uplands Junior SchoolAcademy0.9 milesGood 2023Compare
Woodfield Primary SchoolAcademy0.9 miles637Outstanding 202492Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Merridale Primary School a good school?

Merridale Primary School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in May 2024.

What is Merridale Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Merridale Primary School good at its last full inspection on 9 May 2024.

How good are Merridale Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 71% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 7% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Merridale Primary School have?

240 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 114% full.

What is attendance like at Merridale Primary School?

Pupils were in school 94.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 14% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Merridale Primary School?

The average class had 23.9 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

Does Merridale Primary School have a breakfast club?

Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.

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

Contact and details

Address
Aspen Way, Wolverhampton, WV3 0UP
Telephone
01902 558760
Website
www.merridaleprimary.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Laura Towle
Free breakfast club
Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
The Wulfruna Partnership (4 schools)
Local authority
Wolverhampton
Ward
Graiseley
Constituency
Wolverhampton West
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2025 (academy converter)
URN
151991 · LAESTAB 3362089 · UKPRN 10098548
Formerly
Merridale Primary School

Where these figures come from