Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery
Digby Road, Speen, Newbury, RG14 1TS
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Elizabeth Bucknell
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Newbury
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 240
- Pupils on roll
- 221
- URN
- 109861
- Local authority
- West Berkshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 0163540318
About this school
Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery is a community primary school in Newbury. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 221 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery, 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 26 March 2025, where inspectors found the school has improved significantly. 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 | 32 | 31 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 72% | 84% | 77% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 16% | 19% | 17% |
| Expected standard in reading | 81% | 87% | 93% |
| Expected standard in maths | 88% | 94% | 87% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 94% | 90% | 97% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 108.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 109.0 | 110.0 | 109.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.90 | - | - |
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 Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery 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 | 72% | 54% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 84% | 54.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 77% | 55.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 233 |
| 2023/24 | 239 |
| 2024/25 | 235 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery compares
Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery ranked 5th of 52 primary schools in West Berkshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 82% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 61% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 77% | 4.9% | 33.3% | 221 | — |
| Speenhamland School | 55% | 5.6% | 23.8% | 290 | 0.4 miles |
| Shaw-cum-Donnington C.E. Primary School | 60% | 6% | 25.9% | 91 | 0.6 miles |
| The Winchcombe School | 51% | 5.7% | 16.6% | 436 | 0.7 miles |
| St Nicolas C.E. Junior School | 54% | 4% | 16.6% | 244 | 0.9 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School | 45% | 4.5% | 6.6% | 246 | 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)
- 33.33%
- English as an additional language
- 20.9%
- Overall absence
- 4.94%
- Persistent absence
- 12.97%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Speenhamland School0.4 miles
Primary · Newbury
-
Shaw-cum-Donnington C.E. Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Newbury
-
The Winchcombe School0.7 miles
Primary · Newbury
-
St Nicolas C.E. Junior School0.9 miles
Primary · Newbury
-
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Newbury
Other schools in Newbury
Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery ranks 3rd of the 20 ranked primary schools in Newbury.
- Beedon C.E. (Controlled) Primary School Primary
- Brightwalton C.E. Aided Primary School Primary
- Burghclere Primary School Primary
- Chaddleworth St Andrew's C.E. Primary School Primary
- Chieveley Primary School Primary
- Compton C.E. Primary School Primary
- Ecchinswell and Sydmonton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Enborne C.E. Primary School Primary
- Falkland Primary School Primary
- Fir Tree Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Highwood Copse Primary School Primary
- John Rankin Infant and Nursery School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery teach?
- Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Newbury.
- Who is the headteacher of Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery?
- The headteacher of Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery is Mrs Elizabeth Bucknell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery, 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 Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery?
- Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery has 221 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery full?
- Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery has capacity for 240 pupils and 221 on roll (92%), 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 Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery a faith school?
- No. Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery has no designated religious character.
- Does Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery as having nursery classes.
- How have Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 72% in 2022/23 and 77% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery compare with other schools in West Berkshire?
- Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery ranked 5th of 52 primary schools in West Berkshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 82% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 61% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery's absence rate?
- Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery's overall absence rate is 4.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery'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.