Coley Primary School
Wolseley Street, Reading, RG1 6AZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Pengelly
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Reading Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 270
- Pupils on roll
- 250
- URN
- 109779
- Local authority
- Reading
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01189375461
About this school
Coley Primary School is a community primary school in Reading. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 250 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Coley 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 31 January 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | 47% | 67% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 27% | 10% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 70% | 63% | 70% |
| Expected standard in maths | 73% | 70% | 70% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 63% | 57% | 70% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 104.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 105.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +5.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.10 | - | - |
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 Coley 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 | Reading average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 63% | 55.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 47% | 57.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 67% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 264 |
| 2023/24 | 254 |
| 2024/25 | 260 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Coley Primary School compares
Coley Primary School ranked 16th of 37 primary schools in Reading for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 67% | 5.9% | 22.5% | 250 | — |
| Katesgrove Primary School | 64% | 5.3% | 17.1% | 674 | 0.2 miles |
| All Saints Junior School | 100% | 3.2% | 9.4% | 99 | 0.5 miles |
| All Saints Church of England Aided Infant School | — | 3.6% | 8.3% | 60 | 0.5 miles |
| St Mary & All Saints Church of England Primary School | 66% | 6.9% | 32.2% | 322 | 0.5 miles |
| Civitas Academy | 84% | 5.8% | 15.8% | 374 | 0.5 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)
- 22.49%
- English as an additional language
- 62.3%
- Overall absence
- 5.89%
- Persistent absence
- 18.97%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Katesgrove Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Reading
-
All Saints Junior School0.5 miles
Primary · Reading
-
All Saints Church of England Aided Infant School0.5 miles
Primary · Reading
-
St Mary & All Saints Church of England Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Reading
-
Civitas Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Reading
Other schools in Reading
Coley Primary School ranks 39th of the 82 ranked primary schools in Reading.
- Aldermaston C.E. Primary School Primary
- Aldryngton Primary School Primary
- Alfred Sutton Primary School Primary
- All Saints Church of England Aided Infant School Primary
- All Saints Junior School Primary
- Basildon C.E. Primary School Primary
- Battle Primary Academy Primary
- Beechwood Primary School Primary
- Beenham Primary School Primary
- Birch Copse Primary School Primary
- Bradfield C.E. Primary School Primary
- Brimpton C.E. Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Coley Primary School teach?
- Coley Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Reading.
- Who is the headteacher of Coley Primary School?
- The headteacher of Coley Primary School is Mrs Sarah Pengelly, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Coley Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Coley 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 Coley Primary School?
- Coley Primary School has 250 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Coley Primary School full?
- Coley Primary School has capacity for 270 pupils and 250 on roll (93%), so it has space against 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 Coley Primary School a faith school?
- No. Coley Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Coley Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Coley Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Coley 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 67% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Coley Primary School compare with other schools in Reading?
- Coley Primary School ranked 16th of 37 primary schools in Reading for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Coley Primary School's absence rate?
- Coley Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Coley Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Coley 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.