School Chooser

Paddocks Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedCouncil179 pupilsNewmarketSuffolk
School Chooser Score
70
Above
similar schools
Likely range 47 to 86, so it could be “in line”
Out of 100. Better than 72% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, May 2024
Reached the expected level at 1171%England 63%
Attendance96.2%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families18%A bit fewer than most schools
Places31 spare179 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher20.0School workforce census

Paddocks Primary School is a council school in Newmarket for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 179 pupils and room for 210. About 18 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. We give it 70 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 72% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Rochfort Avenue, Newmarket, CB8 0DL01638 664127paddocksprimary.org.ukMrs Amanda Thompson headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 22 May 2024, 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

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

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 score104.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score106.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 50%50%20172018: 67%67%20182019: 60%60%20192023: 69%69%20232024: 69%69%20242025: 71%71%2025
Since 2017: +21%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017SuffolkEngland
Pupils tested282929252728
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths71%69%69%60%67%50%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths7%10%10%16%4%4%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score104.0107.0106.0104.0103.0102.0105.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score106.0108.0106.0108.0103.0102.0103.7104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score106.0108.0107.0108.0101.0104.0103.8105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard71%83%79%76%74%57%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard82%86%90%84%78%61%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)75%76%69%76%78%68%
Reading progressReading progress score+1.2-0.1-1.5-1.1
Maths progressMaths progress score+2.9+2.0-1.4-1.5
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged57%43%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged70%52%

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. 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 11Boys vs girls
82%65%
Gap 17 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.

A few spare places183 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
87% full

About 27 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have fallen by 3% 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 Suffolk 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 roll179Census January 2026
Places21085% full
Pupils from low-income families18%18% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English24%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support13%24 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan2%4 pupils with a plan
Average class size26.26 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)18%£49,600 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls95 / 84
White British pupils70%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 22.7 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.7 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Specific learning difficulty (10), emotional and mental health (4), language and communications needs (4), Autistic spectrum disorder (3), Moderate learning difficulty (3), Severe learning difficulty (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll179185194189188198
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals18%18%15%13%7%11%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language24%18%18%15%14%13%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support13%15%13%12%11%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans1%2%1%2%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.2%
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 pupils1.12024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.7%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence3.8%3.8%4.9%5.2%2.8%3.4%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence2.1%1.5%2.3%2.8%1.9%2.0%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.7%2.3%2.6%2.4%1.0%1.4%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence4.2%3.5%11.1%10.2%5.2%4.5%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate1.12.61.10.00.5
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers9.0full-time equivalent, 10 people
Pupils per teacher20.0Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers90%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants6.5full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£46,767
Teachers who left in the year0%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher2.82024/25

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£6,422England £7,738. Total £1.2m
Income per pupil£6,192England £7,697. Total £1.1m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,285England £3,480
Money in reserve23%A lot put by: £265k, £1,432 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£42kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£6,422spent 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 m8912 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate79 per 1,000 people13% lower than the England average
Typical house price£290,000West Suffolk
Nearest bus stop80 mHalifax Way, 13 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
Laureate Community AcademyAcademy710 m239No overall grade 202581Compare
Houldsworth Valley Primary AcademyAcademy850 m332Good 201977Compare
St Louis Catholic AcademyAcademy0.8 miles300No overall grade 202565Compare
All Saints Church of England Primary School, NewmarketAcademy1.1 miles177Good 202228Compare
Ditton Lodge Primary SchoolAcademy1.3 miles204Report card 202693Compare
Exning Primary SchoolAcademy1.3 miles223Outstanding 202091Compare
Burwell Village College (Primary)Council3.2 miles374Good 202465Compare
Cheveley CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England3.7 miles143Good 202362Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Paddocks Primary School 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.

Beats72%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 70 is 22 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 4 · middle 48 · highest 98100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 70 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 70% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 47 to 86. 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%in line
+0.07
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 28 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 2.3 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
+0.06
DfE progress measure; 28 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
-0.02
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.10
2024/25; 168 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%in line
+0.03
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 28 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 Paddocks Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Paddocks Primary School scores 70 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 72% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 47 to 86, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Paddocks Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Paddocks Primary School good at its last full inspection on 22 May 2024.

How good are Paddocks 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 Paddocks Primary School have?

179 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 85% full.

Is Paddocks Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 27 places were empty in 2024/25 (13% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Paddocks Primary School?

Pupils were in school 96.2% 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 Paddocks Primary School?

The average class had 26.2 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
Rochfort Avenue, Newmarket, CB8 0DL
Telephone
01638 664127
Website
www.paddocksprimary.org.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Amanda Thompson
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Suffolk
Ward
Newmarket West
Constituency
West Suffolk
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
124565 · LAESTAB 9352055 · UKPRN 10072934

Where these figures come from