The Harrowby Church of England Primary School
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The Harrowby Church of England Primary School is a converter academy in Grantham for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 67 pupils and room for 180. About 64 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 1 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 11% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in December 2025 and gave it a report card, which is below.
New Beacon Road, Grantham, NG31 9LJ01476 564417harrowbyprimary.co.ukMrs Amy Cussell headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted visited on 9 December 2025. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.
Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 10 May 2023 | S5 Inspection | Requires improvement |
Results
No published results yet for this school.
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.
164 places were empty (78% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have grown by 18% since 2021/22.
In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place (9 offers for 30 places).
| Entry | Places | Got a place | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Primary | 30 | 9 | – all offered | LA |
| 2025 Primary | 30 | 6 | – all offered | LA |
| 2024 Primary | 30 | 8 | – all offered | LA |
| 2023 Primary | 30 | 11 | – all offered | LA |
| 2022 Primary | 60 | 14 | – all offered | LA |
| 2021 Primary | 60 | 14 | – all offered | LA |
| 2020 Primary | 60 | 15 | – all offered | LA |
| 2019 Primary | 60 | 16 | – all offered | 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 24.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 23.0 (England 27.3).
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (8), Autistic spectrum disorder (3), Other difficulty or disability (2), emotional and mental health (2), Moderate learning difficulty (1), Specific learning difficulty (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 67 | 52 | 57 | 50 | 45 | 53 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 60% | 60% | 53% | 60% | 51% | 40% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 21% | 27% | 32% | 28% | 22% | 15% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 10% | 5% | 10% | 11% | 6% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 6% | 4% | 6% | 4% | 2% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 91.5% 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 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 8.5% | 7.1% | 12.6% | 7.6% | 5.8% | 5.5% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 6.0% | 5.0% | 10.4% | 6.2% | 5.0% | 4.5% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.5% | 2.2% | 2.2% | 1.4% | 0.8% | 1.1% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 27.5% | 26.1% | 52.8% | 29.0% | 21.2% | 12.0% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 1.9 | 10.5 | 16.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy | Academy | 490 m | 183 | No overall grade 2025 | 51 | Compare |
| The Little Gonerby Church of England Primary Academy, Grantham | Academy | 580 m | 158 | Good 2023 | 18 | Compare |
| Belton Lane Community Primary School | Council | 740 m | 303 | No overall grade 2025 | 65 | Compare |
| Belmont Community Primary School | Council | 990 m | 198 | No overall grade 2024 | 3 | Compare |
| St Wulfram's National Church of England Primary School | Academy | 0.7 miles | 118 | No overall grade 2025 | 3 | Compare |
| St Anne's Church of England Primary School, Grantham | Church of England | 0.8 miles | 208 | Good 2024 | 43 | Compare |
| Cliffedale Primary School | Council | 0.8 miles | 284 | Good 2024 | 54 | Compare |
| Huntingtower Community Primary Academy | Academy | 1.2 miles | 417 | Report card 2026 | 24 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares The Harrowby Church of England Primary School with the 47 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 47 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 1 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 1% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 1 to 3. 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 | 20% | well below | -0.88 | Ofsted report card, 0.8 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | below | -0.23 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | well below | -0.44 | 2024/25; 51 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 The Harrowby Church of England Primary School a good school?
The figures are weak. The Harrowby Church of England Primary School scores 1 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 11% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 1 to 3, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.
What is The Harrowby Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 9 December 2025 it rated teaching as needs attention, achievement as needs attention, behaviour and attendance as needs attention, leadership as as expected.
How many pupils does The Harrowby Church of England Primary School have?
67 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 180 places, so it is 37% full.
Is The Harrowby Church of England Primary School oversubscribed?
Probably not. 164 places were empty in 2024/25 (78% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at The Harrowby Church of England Primary School?
Pupils were in school 91.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 27% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at The Harrowby Church of England Primary School?
The average class had 22.3 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.
Does The Harrowby Church of England 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
- New Beacon Road, Grantham, NG31 9LJ
- Telephone
- 01476 564417
- Website
- harrowbyprimary.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Amy Cussell
- 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
- Religious character
- Church of England, Diocese of Lincoln
- Multi-academy trust
- Lincoln Anglican Academy Trust (24 schools)
- Local authority
- Lincolnshire
- Ward
- Grantham St Vincent's
- Constituency
- Grantham and Bourne
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 July 2012 (academy converter)
- URN
- 138283 · LAESTAB 9253310 · UKPRN 10037744
- Formerly
- The Harrowby Church of England Infant School, Grantham
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: Lincolnshire council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.
- Breakfast club: DfE list of schools on the free breakfast club programme.
- 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.