Sherwell Valley Primary School
Hawkins Avenue, Torquay, TQ2 6ES
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Cristy Nelson
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Torbay
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 658
- Pupils on roll
- 694
- URN
- 113240
- Local authority
- Torbay
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01803613296
About this school
Sherwell Valley Primary School is a community primary school in Torquay. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 694 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 21 February 2024, 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 | 92 | 89 | 88 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 53% | 62% | 75% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 9% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | 82% | 84% |
| Expected standard in maths | 75% | 73% | 85% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 77% | 79% | 88% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 107.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 105.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.20 | - | - |
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 Sherwell Valley 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 | 53% | 57% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 62% | 57.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 75% | 57.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 681 |
| 2023/24 | 656 |
| 2024/25 | 686 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Sherwell Valley Primary School compares
Sherwell Valley Primary School ranked 6th of 30 primary schools in Torbay for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 78% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 75% | 4.3% | 15.9% | 694 | — |
| Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Primary School | 50% | 5.2% | 34.3% | 145 | 0.4 miles |
| Shiphay Learning Academy | 66% | 4.5% | 18.4% | 373 | 0.4 miles |
| Torre Church of England Academy | 84% | 4% | 28% | 310 | 0.7 miles |
| Cockington Primary School | 46% | 5.2% | 34.6% | 380 | 0.9 miles |
| Upton St James CofE Primary School | 36% | 6.9% | 52% | 94 | 1.2 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)
- 15.91%
- English as an additional language
- 0.3%
- Overall absence
- 4.25%
- Persistent absence
- 7.56%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
Shiphay Learning Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
Torre Church of England Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
Cockington Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
Upton St James CofE Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Torquay
Other schools in Torquay
Sherwell Valley Primary School ranks 4th 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
- Shiphay Learning Academy Primary
- St Margaret's Academy Primary
- St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Sherwell Valley Primary School teach?
- Sherwell Valley Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Torquay.
- Who is the headteacher of Sherwell Valley Primary School?
- The headteacher of Sherwell Valley Primary School is Mrs Cristy Nelson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Sherwell Valley Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sherwell Valley 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 Sherwell Valley Primary School?
- Sherwell Valley Primary School has 694 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Sherwell Valley Primary School full?
- Sherwell Valley Primary School has capacity for 658 pupils and 694 on roll (105%), so it is at or above 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 Sherwell Valley Primary School a faith school?
- No. Sherwell Valley Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Sherwell Valley Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Sherwell Valley Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Sherwell Valley Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 53% in 2022/23 and 75% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Sherwell Valley Primary School rank locally?
- Sherwell Valley Primary School ranked 6th of 30 primary schools in Torbay for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 78% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Sherwell Valley Primary School's absence rate?
- Sherwell Valley Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Sherwell Valley Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Sherwell Valley 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.