Parsons Down Junior School
Herons Way, Thatcham, RG19 3SR
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Executive Headteacher
- Mrs Catherine Bull
- Federation
- Parsons Down Partnership of Schools
- Constituency
- Newbury
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 360
- Pupils on roll
- 139
- URN
- 109923
- Local authority
- West Berkshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01635866700
About this school
Parsons Down Junior School is a community primary school in Thatcham. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 139 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 6 July 2022, 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 | 58 | 48 | 57 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 41% | 56% | 39% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 6% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 64% | 69% | 54% |
| Expected standard in maths | 60% | 63% | 49% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 53% | 67% | 60% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 104.0 | 101.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 102.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -4.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.80 | - | - |
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 Parsons Down Junior 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 | 41% | 54% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 56% | 54.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 39% | 55.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 180 |
| 2023/24 | 184 |
| 2024/25 | 163 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Parsons Down Junior School compares
Parsons Down Junior School ranked 46th of 52 primary schools in West Berkshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 11% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 39% | 5.6% | 23.3% | 139 | — |
| Parsons Down Infant School | — | 6.5% | 8.9% | 88 | 0.1 miles |
| Whitelands Park Primary School | 57% | 6.1% | 22.1% | 372 | 0.7 miles |
| Thatcham Park CofE Primary | 51% | 4.2% | 24% | 399 | 0.8 miles |
| Fir Tree Primary School and Nursery | 53% | 5.7% | 42% | 239 | 0.9 miles |
| Spurcroft Primary School | 49% | 4.6% | 13.7% | 408 | 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)
- 23.31%
- English as an additional language
- 11.7%
- Overall absence
- 5.56%
- Persistent absence
- 14.86%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Parsons Down Infant School0.1 miles
Primary · Thatcham
-
Whitelands Park Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Thatcham
-
Thatcham Park CofE Primary0.8 miles
Primary · Thatcham
-
Fir Tree Primary School and Nursery0.9 miles
Primary · Newbury
-
Spurcroft Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Thatcham
Other schools in Thatcham
Parsons Down Junior School ranks 12th of the 12 ranked primary schools in Thatcham.
- Ashford Hill Primary School Primary
- Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School Primary
- Curridge Primary School Primary
- Francis Baily Primary School Primary
- Hampstead Norreys C.E. Primary School Primary
- Hermitage Primary School Primary
- Parsons Down Infant School Primary
- Spurcroft Primary School Primary
- St Finian's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Thatcham Park CofE Primary Primary
- Whitelands Park Primary School Primary
- Yattendon C.E. Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Parsons Down Junior School teach?
- Parsons Down Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Thatcham.
- Who is the executive headteacher of Parsons Down Junior School?
- The executive headteacher of Parsons Down Junior School is Mrs Catherine Bull, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Parsons Down Junior School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Parsons Down Junior 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 Parsons Down Junior School?
- Parsons Down Junior School has 139 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is Parsons Down Junior School full?
- Parsons Down Junior School has capacity for 360 pupils and 139 on roll (39%), 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 Parsons Down Junior School a faith school?
- No. Parsons Down Junior School has no designated religious character.
- Does Parsons Down Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Parsons Down Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Parsons Down Junior School?
- Parsons Down Junior School is part of the Parsons Down Partnership of Schools federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Parsons Down Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 41% in 2022/23 and 39% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Parsons Down Junior School rank locally?
- Parsons Down Junior School ranked 46th of 52 primary schools in West Berkshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 11% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Parsons Down Junior School's absence rate?
- Parsons Down Junior School's overall absence rate is 5.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Parsons Down Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Parsons Down Junior 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.