Birch Copse Primary School
Wittenham Avenue, Tilehurst, Reading, RG31 5LN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr P Massey
- Constituency
- Reading West and Mid Berkshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 420
- URN
- 109844
- Local authority
- West Berkshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01189427442
About this school
Birch Copse Primary School is a community primary school in Reading. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 420 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Birch Copse 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 | 60 | 61 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 82% | 82% | 72% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 15% | 21% | 20% |
| Expected standard in reading | 87% | 87% | 83% |
| Expected standard in maths | 88% | 92% | 82% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 90% | 93% | 85% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 109.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 108.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.90 | - | - |
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 Birch Copse 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 | West Berkshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 82% | 54% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 82% | 54.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 72% | 55.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 423 |
| 2023/24 | 418 |
| 2024/25 | 416 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Birch Copse Primary School compares
Birch Copse Primary School ranked 7th of 52 primary schools in West Berkshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 95% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 72% | 3.3% | 7.7% | 420 | — |
| St Paul's Catholic Primary School | 77% | 4.2% | 4.4% | 279 | 0.3 miles |
| Park Lane Primary School | 68% | 4.8% | 20.1% | 388 | 0.3 miles |
| Springfield Primary School | 69% | 3.3% | 9.5% | 330 | 0.3 miles |
| Moorlands Primary School | 77% | 5.9% | 45.6% | 286 | 1.0 miles |
| Downsway Primary School | 61% | 4.7% | 6.1% | 213 | 1.0 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)
- 7.69%
- English as an additional language
- 9.4%
- Overall absence
- 3.32%
- Persistent absence
- 4.12%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Paul's Catholic Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Reading
-
Park Lane Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Reading
-
Springfield Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Reading
-
Moorlands Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Reading
-
Downsway Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Reading
Other schools in Reading
Birch Copse Primary School ranks 22nd 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
- Bradfield C.E. Primary School Primary
- Brimpton C.E. Primary School Primary
- Bucklebury C.E. Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Birch Copse Primary School teach?
- Birch Copse Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Reading.
- Who is the headteacher of Birch Copse Primary School?
- The headteacher of Birch Copse Primary School is Mr P Massey, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Birch Copse Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Birch Copse 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 Birch Copse Primary School?
- Birch Copse Primary School has 420 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Birch Copse Primary School full?
- Birch Copse Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 420 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 Birch Copse Primary School a faith school?
- No. Birch Copse Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Birch Copse Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Birch Copse Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Birch Copse Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 82% in 2022/23 and 72% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Birch Copse Primary School compare with other schools in West Berkshire?
- Birch Copse Primary School ranked 7th of 52 primary schools in West Berkshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 95% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Birch Copse Primary School's absence rate?
- Birch Copse Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Birch Copse Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Birch Copse 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.