Downsway Primary School
Warbreck Drive, Tilehurst, Reading, RG31 6FE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Katie Ayres
- Constituency
- Reading West and Mid Berkshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 216
- Pupils on roll
- 213
- URN
- 109896
- Local authority
- West Berkshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01189421362
About this school
Downsway Primary School is a community primary school in Reading. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 213 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. 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 26 April 2023, 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 | 31 | 30 | 33 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 71% | 70% | 61% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 7% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 77% | 83% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 81% | 80% | 73% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 81% | 77% | 79% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 107.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.60 | - | - |
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 Downsway 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 | 71% | 54% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 70% | 54.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 61% | 55.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.3% | 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 | 215 |
| 2023/24 | 212 |
| 2024/25 | 214 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Downsway Primary School compares
Downsway Primary School ranked 20th of 52 primary schools in West Berkshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% 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 | 61% | 4.7% | 6.1% | 213 | — |
| Westwood Farm Junior School | 58% | 5.1% | 16.5% | 235 | 0.4 miles |
| Westwood Farm Infant School | — | 6.3% | 13.5% | 193 | 0.4 miles |
| Long Lane Primary School | 38% | 6% | 9.1% | 212 | 0.5 miles |
| Purley CofE Primary School | 62% | 4.1% | 18.8% | 85 | 0.8 miles |
| Birch Copse Primary School | 72% | 3.3% | 7.7% | 420 | 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)
- 6.07%
- English as an additional language
- 4.2%
- Overall absence
- 4.67%
- Persistent absence
- 11.23%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Westwood Farm Junior School0.4 miles
Primary · Reading
-
Westwood Farm Infant School0.4 miles
Primary · Reading
-
Long Lane Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Reading
-
Purley CofE Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Reading
-
Birch Copse Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Reading
Other schools in Reading
Downsway Primary School ranks 53rd 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 year groups does Downsway Primary School teach?
- Downsway Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Reading.
- Who is the headteacher of Downsway Primary School?
- The headteacher of Downsway Primary School is Mrs Katie Ayres, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Downsway Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Downsway 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 Downsway Primary School?
- Downsway Primary School has 213 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Downsway Primary School full?
- Downsway Primary School has capacity for 216 pupils and 213 on roll (99%), 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 Downsway Primary School a faith school?
- No. Downsway Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Downsway Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Downsway Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Downsway Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 71% in 2022/23 and 61% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Downsway Primary School rank locally?
- Downsway Primary School ranked 20th of 52 primary schools in West Berkshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% 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 Downsway Primary School's absence rate?
- Downsway 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 Downsway Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Downsway 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.