Watcombe Primary School
Moor Lane, Torquay, TQ2 8NU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Tim Nield
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Torbay
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 242
- Pupils on roll
- 221
- URN
- 113233
- Local authority
- Torbay
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01803327419
About this school
Watcombe Primary School is a community primary school in Torquay. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 221 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Watcombe Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out 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 | 30 | 27 | 27 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 57% | 33% | 37% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 70% | 74% | 56% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 52% | 48% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 73% | 59% | 44% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 105.0 | 99.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 101.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.20 | - | - |
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 Watcombe 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 | Torbay average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 57% | 57% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 33% | 57.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 37% | 57.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 230 |
| 2023/24 | 230 |
| 2024/25 | 225 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Watcombe Primary School compares
Watcombe Primary School ranked 28th of 30 primary schools in Torbay 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 35% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 37% | 6.3% | 34.4% | 221 | — |
| Lift Barton Hill | 74% | 5.9% | 41% | 568 | 0.6 miles |
| St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School | 53% | 4.6% | 31.9% | 241 | 0.7 miles |
| Priory Roman Catholic Primary School, Torquay | 44% | 8% | 34.4% | 107 | 0.9 miles |
| St Margaret's Academy | 54% | 5.4% | 27.4% | 382 | 0.9 miles |
| Homelands Primary School | 57% | 7.7% | 36.1% | 208 | 1.1 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.
Inspection history
- 2 July 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report20 April 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 34.36%
- English as an additional language
- 2.7%
- Overall absence
- 6.29%
- Persistent absence
- 19.89%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Lift Barton Hill0.6 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School0.7 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
Priory Roman Catholic Primary School, Torquay0.9 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
St Margaret's Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
Homelands Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Torquay
Other schools in Torquay
Watcombe Primary School ranks 16th of the 17 ranked primary schools in Torquay.
- All Saints Babbacombe CofE Primary School Primary
- Cockington Primary School Primary
- Ellacombe Church of England Academy Primary
- Homelands Primary School Primary
- Ilsham Church of England Academy Primary
- Lift Barton Hill Primary
- Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Primary School Primary
- Preston Primary School Primary
- Priory Roman Catholic Primary School, Torquay Primary
- Sherwell Valley Primary School Primary
- Shiphay Learning Academy Primary
- St Margaret's Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Watcombe Primary School teach?
- Watcombe Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Torquay.
- Who is the headteacher of Watcombe Primary School?
- The headteacher of Watcombe Primary School is Mr Tim Nield, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Watcombe Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Watcombe 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 many pupils are at Watcombe Primary School?
- Watcombe Primary School has 221 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Watcombe Primary School full?
- Watcombe Primary School has capacity for 242 pupils and 221 on roll (91%), 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 Watcombe Primary School a faith school?
- No. Watcombe Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Watcombe Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Watcombe Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Watcombe Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 57% in 2022/23 and 37% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Watcombe Primary School compare with other schools in Torbay?
- Watcombe Primary School ranked 28th of 30 primary schools in Torbay 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 35% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Watcombe Primary School's absence rate?
- Watcombe Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Watcombe Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Watcombe 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.