School Chooser

Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy

Primary · ages 2-11MixedFree school720 pupilsNurseryLondonEnfield
School Chooser Score
98
Well above
similar schools
Likely range 96 to 99
Out of 100. Better than 98% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, June 2024
Reached the expected level at 1191%England 63%
Attendance94.8%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families41%Far more than most schools
Places240 spare720 pupils, 960 places
Pupils per teacher18.1School workforce census

Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy is a free school in London for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 720 pupils and room for 960. About 41 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 98 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 98% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Cuckoo Hall Lane, London, N9 8DR020 8804 4126woodpeckerhallacademy.org.ukMs Nicky Ross headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 11 June 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”
Outstanding
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Outstanding
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1191%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level26%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score110.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score109.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 48%48%20172018: 40%40%20182019: 45%45%20192023: 71%71%20232024: 84%84%20242025: 91%91%2025
Since 2017: +43%Improving overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017†EnfieldEngland
Pupils tested1091081195858119
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths91%84%71%45%40%48%70%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths26%19%15%0%5%3%11%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score110.0109.0107.0102.0100.099.0106.0105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score109.0108.0106.0100.099.0101.0105.8104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score109.0108.0106.0101.0101.0103.0106.7105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard97%94%82%62%60%55%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard98%91%81%62%48%60%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)91%87%79%71%66%73%
Reading progressReading progress score+5.6-4.0-5.1-6.4
Maths progressMaths progress score+4.4-5.1-6.6-5.2
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged93%81%67%34%37%47%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged88%87%76%61%42%49%

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 Cuckoo Hall Academy, the school this one replaced in September 2011. 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. 3 of the 4 gaps are 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
93%88%
Gap 5 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
88%94%
Gap 6 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
88%91%
Gap 3 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
25%26%
Gap 1 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.

Plenty of spare places644 pupils for 840 places, 2024/25
77% full

196 places were empty (23% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 14% 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 Enfield 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 roll720Census January 2026
Places96075% full
Pupils from low-income families38%41% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English59%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support21%148 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan5%34 pupils with a plan
Average class size29.56 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils33%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)43%£409,200 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls357 / 363
White British pupils9%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (96), Autistic spectrum disorder (39), emotional and mental health (29), Specific learning difficulty (8), Moderate learning difficulty (3), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (3).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll720780799813882370
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals38%34%33%33%30%35%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language59%62%58%58%54%56%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support15%12%11%11%13%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans4%4%4%3%1%

Attendance and behaviour

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

Attendance94.8%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school11.9%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils2.12024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.9%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.2%5.1%5.8%5.1%4.3%4.4%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.3%3.5%4.0%3.5%3.2%3.0%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.9%1.6%1.8%1.6%1.1%1.4%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence11.9%11.7%13.9%10.4%11.8%9.8%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate2.12.62.21.41.1
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers38.2full-time equivalent, 40 people
Pupils per teacher18.1Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers88%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants20.3full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£56,045
Teachers who left in the year13%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.92024/25

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£6,460England £7,128. Total £4.8m
Income per pupil£7,731England £7,587. Total £5.8m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,340England £3,405
Money in reserve-29%In the red: -£1.7m, -£2,254 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£948kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,460spent 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 m51812 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate98 per 1,000 people7% higher than the England average
Typical house price£475,000Enfield
Nearest bus stop200 mScarborough Road, 6 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
Delta Primary SchoolAcademy380 m112No overall grade 202598Compare
Oasis Academy HadleyAcademy790 m1,528Report card 202566Compare
Eldon Primary SchoolAcademy790 m706Good 202222Compare
St Matthew's CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England800 m195Good 202359Compare
Houndsfield Primary SchoolAcademy840 m496Good 202340Compare
Alma Primary SchoolAcademy0.6 miles442Good 202372Compare
Galliard Primary SchoolAcademy0.7 miles698Outstanding 202389Compare
St Edmund's Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic0.7 miles376Good 202327Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy with the 48 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 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats98%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the very top of its group. Its score of 98 is 49 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 6 · middle 49 · highest 99100

No school with a similar mix of pupils within 25 km scores clearly higher.

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 98 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 98% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 96 to 99. 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
+0.31
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 109 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 2.3 years old
Progress pupils make20%well above
+0.47
DfE progress measure; 109 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%well above
+0.16
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
+0.00
2024/25; 604 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well above
+0.21
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 109 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 Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy scores 98 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 98% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 96 to 99, 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 Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy good at its last full inspection on 11 June 2024.

How good are Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 91% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 26% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy have?

720 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 960 places, so it is 75% full.

Is Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy oversubscribed?

Probably not. 196 places were empty in 2024/25 (23% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy?

Pupils were in school 94.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 12% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy?

The average class had 29.5 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 33% 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
Cuckoo Hall Lane, London, N9 8DR
Telephone
020 8804 4126
Website
www.woodpeckerhallacademy.org.uk
Headteacher
Ms Nicky Ross
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
North Star Community Trust Ltd (4 schools)
Local authority
Enfield
Ward
Jubilee
Constituency
Edmonton and Winchmore Hill
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
5 September 2011 (new provision)
URN
136952 · LAESTAB 3082000 · UKPRN 10035289
Formerly
Cuckoo Hall Academy

Where these figures come from