John Ball Primary School
Southvale Road, Blackheath, London, SE3 0TP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jacqui Noakes
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Lewisham North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 684
- Pupils on roll
- 672
- URN
- 100709
- Local authority
- Lewisham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02088521601
About this school
John Ball Primary School is a community primary school in London. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 672 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected John Ball Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 72 | 79 | 87 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | 71% | 71% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 19% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | 81% | 89% |
| Expected standard in maths | 78% | 81% | 78% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 75% | 81% | 90% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 108.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 107.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.40 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How John Ball Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Lewisham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 63% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 71% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 71% | 64.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 609 |
| 2023/24 | 631 |
| 2024/25 | 655 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How John Ball Primary School compares
John Ball Primary School ranked 32nd of 67 primary schools in Lewisham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 71% | 4.7% | 12.3% | 672 | — |
| All Saints' Church of England Primary School Blackheath | 67% | 4.8% | 11.4% | 189 | 0.2 miles |
| St Margaret's Lee CofE Primary School | 78% | 4% | 19.6% | 206 | 0.5 miles |
| Brooklands Primary School | 61% | 5.6% | 21.2% | 233 | 0.6 miles |
| St Saviour's Catholic Primary School | 57% | 6.4% | 39.3% | 188 | 0.8 miles |
| Wingfield Primary School | 85% | 4.4% | 17.7% | 667 | 0.8 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 12.32%
- English as an additional language
- 33%
- Overall absence
- 4.65%
- Persistent absence
- 9.24%
Location
Nearby schools
-
All Saints' Church of England Primary School Blackheath0.2 miles
Primary · London
-
St Margaret's Lee CofE Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · London
-
Brooklands Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · London
-
St Saviour's Catholic Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · London
-
Wingfield Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · London
Other schools in London
John Ball Primary School ranks 547th of the 948 ranked primary schools in London.
- Abacus Belsize Primary School Primary
- Acton Gardens Primary School Primary
- Adamsrill Primary School Primary
- Addison Primary School Primary
- Ainslie Wood Primary School Primary
- Akiva School Primary
- Albemarle Primary School Primary
- Albion Primary School Primary
- Alderbrook Primary School Primary
- Aldersbrook Primary School Primary
- Alderwood Primary School Primary
- Alexander McLeod Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does John Ball Primary School teach?
- John Ball Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of John Ball Primary School?
- The headteacher of John Ball Primary School is Mrs Jacqui Noakes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has John Ball Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected John Ball Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at John Ball Primary School?
- John Ball Primary School has 672 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is John Ball Primary School full?
- John Ball Primary School has capacity for 684 pupils and 672 on roll (98%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is John Ball Primary School a faith school?
- No. John Ball Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does John Ball Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records John Ball Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have John Ball Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 63% in 2022/23 and 71% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does John Ball Primary School compare with other schools in Lewisham?
- John Ball Primary School ranked 32nd of 67 primary schools in Lewisham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is John Ball Primary School's absence rate?
- John Ball Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are John Ball Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, John Ball Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.