West Croft School
Coronation Road, Bideford, EX39 3DE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lisa Johnston
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication
- Constituency
- Torridge and Tavistock
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 630
- Pupils on roll
- 417
- URN
- 113132
- Local authority
- Devon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01237473548
About this school
West Croft School is a community primary school in Bideford. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 417 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
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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- 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 | 90 | 83 | 84 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 23% | 29% | 38% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 1% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 48% | 48% | 65% |
| Expected standard in maths | 52% | 42% | 52% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 51% | 49% | 55% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 100.0 | 101.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 98.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -7.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -4.20 | - | - |
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 West Croft 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 | Devon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 23% | 55% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 29% | 54.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 38% | 57.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 561 |
| 2023/24 | 521 |
| 2024/25 | 484 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How West Croft School compares
West Croft School ranked 240th of 269 primary schools in Devon for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 38% | 6.5% | 42.8% | 417 | — |
| St Mary's CofE Primary School | 57% | 5.1% | 16.3% | 397 | 0.9 miles |
| East-the-Water Community Primary School | 69% | 4.7% | 42.4% | 439 | 0.9 miles |
| St Helen's Church of England School | 57% | 3.9% | 9.2% | 204 | 1.5 miles |
| St Margaret's Church of England Junior School | 46% | 6.9% | 23.4% | 184 | 2.1 miles |
| St George's CofE Infant and Nursery School | — | 5.3% | 17.8% | 110 | 2.2 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)
- 42.76%
- English as an additional language
- 4.5%
- Overall absence
- 6.45%
- Persistent absence
- 20.51%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Mary's CofE Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Bideford
-
East-the-Water Community Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Bideford
-
St Helen's Church of England School1.5 miles
Primary · Bideford
-
St Margaret's Church of England Junior School2.1 miles
Primary · Bideford
-
St George's CofE Infant and Nursery School2.2 miles
Primary · Bideford
Other schools in Bideford
West Croft School ranks 10th of the 12 ranked primary schools in Bideford.
- Appledore School Primary
- Buckland Brewer Primary School Primary
- East-the-Water Community Primary School Primary
- Hartland Primary School Primary
- Instow Community Primary and Pre-School Primary
- Monkleigh Primary School Primary
- Parkham Primary School Primary
- St George's CofE Infant and Nursery School Primary
- St Helen's Church of England School Primary
- St Margaret's Church of England Junior School Primary
- St Mary's CofE Primary School Primary
- Woolsery Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does West Croft School teach?
- West Croft School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Bideford.
- Who is the headteacher of West Croft School?
- The headteacher of West Croft School is Mrs Lisa Johnston, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was West Croft School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected West Croft 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 West Croft School?
- West Croft School has 417 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is West Croft School full?
- West Croft School has capacity for 630 pupils and 417 on roll (66%), 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 West Croft School a faith school?
- No. West Croft School has no designated religious character.
- Does West Croft School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records West Croft School as having nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does West Croft School have?
- The schools register lists West Croft School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have West Croft School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 23% in 2022/23 and 38% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does West Croft School rank locally?
- West Croft School ranked 240th of 269 primary schools in Devon for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is West Croft School's absence rate?
- West Croft School's overall absence rate is 6.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are West Croft School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, West Croft 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.