Bucklebury C.E. Primary School
Blacklands Road, Upper Bucklebury, Reading, RG7 6QP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr A Higgs
- Diocese
- Diocese of Oxford
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Reading West and Mid Berkshire
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 126
- Pupils on roll
- 99
- URN
- 109955
- Local authority
- West Berkshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01635862965
About this school
Bucklebury C.E. Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Reading. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 99 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 19 | 9 | 15 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 58% | 44% | 53% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 63% | 78% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 63% | 56% | 73% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 63% | 67% | 47% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 108.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 99.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.80 | - | - |
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 Bucklebury C.E. 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 | 58% | 54% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 44% | 54.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 53% | 55.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 121 |
| 2023/24 | 106 |
| 2024/25 | 105 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bucklebury C.E. Primary School compares
Bucklebury C.E. Primary School ranked 36th of 52 primary schools in West Berkshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53% | 5.4% | 16.2% | 99 | — |
| Francis Baily Primary School | 58% | 5.5% | 17.8% | 491 | 1.2 miles |
| Thatcham Park CofE Primary | 51% | 4.2% | 24% | 399 | 1.6 miles |
| St Finian's Catholic Primary School | 71% | 3.2% | 3.4% | 204 | 1.6 miles |
| Spurcroft Primary School | 49% | 4.6% | 13.7% | 408 | 1.7 miles |
| Whitelands Park Primary School | 57% | 6.1% | 22.1% | 372 | 1.8 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)
- 16.19%
- English as an additional language
- 4.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.43%
- Persistent absence
- 16.49%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Francis Baily Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Thatcham
-
Thatcham Park CofE Primary1.6 miles
Primary · Thatcham
-
St Finian's Catholic Primary School1.6 miles
Primary · Thatcham
-
Spurcroft Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Thatcham
-
Whitelands Park Primary School1.8 miles
Primary · Thatcham
Other schools in Reading
Bucklebury C.E. Primary School ranks 67th 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 Bucklebury C.E. Primary School teach?
- Bucklebury C.E. Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Reading.
- Who is the headteacher of Bucklebury C.E. Primary School?
- The headteacher of Bucklebury C.E. Primary School is Mr A Higgs, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bucklebury C.E. Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bucklebury C.E. 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 Bucklebury C.E. Primary School?
- Bucklebury C.E. Primary School has 99 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Bucklebury C.E. Primary School full?
- Bucklebury C.E. Primary School has capacity for 126 pupils and 99 on roll (79%), 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 Bucklebury C.E. Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Bucklebury C.E. Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Oxford.
- Does Bucklebury C.E. Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Bucklebury C.E. Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Bucklebury C.E. Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 58% in 2022/23 and 53% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bucklebury C.E. Primary School rank locally?
- Bucklebury C.E. Primary School ranked 36th of 52 primary schools in West Berkshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bucklebury C.E. Primary School's absence rate?
- Bucklebury C.E. Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bucklebury C.E. Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bucklebury C.E. 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.