Handsworth Primary School
Handsworth Avenue, Highams Park, London, E4 9PJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Claire Nairne
- Constituency
- Chingford and Woodford Green
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 418
- URN
- 103059
- Local authority
- Waltham Forest
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02085275991
About this school
Handsworth Primary School is a community primary school in London. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 418 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 59 | 59 | 57 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 68% | 69% | 65% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 12% | 16% |
| Expected standard in reading | 80% | 86% | 79% |
| Expected standard in maths | 76% | 80% | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 76% | 78% | 79% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 108.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.30 | - | - |
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 Handsworth 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 | Waltham Forest average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 68% | 65.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 69% | 70.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 65% | 70.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 444 |
| 2023/24 | 445 |
| 2024/25 | 449 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Handsworth Primary School compares
Handsworth Primary School ranked 41st of 51 primary schools in Waltham Forest for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% 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 | 65% | 4.6% | 12.4% | 418 | — |
| Oakhill Primary School | 81% | 4.1% | 26% | 207 | 0.3 miles |
| Selwyn Primary School | 87% | 5% | 15.1% | 721 | 0.4 miles |
| Ainslie Wood Primary School | 87% | 4.9% | 12.5% | 451 | 0.6 miles |
| Thorpe Hall Primary School | 80% | 4.6% | 33.2% | 358 | 0.7 miles |
| Woodford Green Primary School | 93% | 4.8% | 23.6% | 242 | 0.9 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)
- 12.41%
- English as an additional language
- 13.6%
- Overall absence
- 4.63%
- Persistent absence
- 12.5%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Oakhill Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Woodford Green
-
Selwyn Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · London
-
Ainslie Wood Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · London
-
Thorpe Hall Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · London
-
Woodford Green Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Woodford Green
Other schools in London
Handsworth Primary School ranks 679th 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 year groups does Handsworth Primary School teach?
- Handsworth Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of Handsworth Primary School?
- The headteacher of Handsworth Primary School is Mrs Claire Nairne, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Handsworth Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Handsworth 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 big is Handsworth Primary School?
- Handsworth Primary School has 418 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Handsworth Primary School full?
- Handsworth Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 418 on roll (100%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Handsworth Primary School a faith school?
- No. Handsworth Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Handsworth Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Handsworth Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Handsworth Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 68% in 2022/23 and 65% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Handsworth Primary School rank locally?
- Handsworth Primary School ranked 41st of 51 primary schools in Waltham Forest for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% 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 Handsworth Primary School's absence rate?
- Handsworth Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Handsworth Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Handsworth 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.