Coalway Primary School
63 Coalway Road, Coleford, GL16 7HL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Head Teacher
- Mr James Barrow
- Constituency
- Forest of Dean
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 193
- URN
- 115550
- Local authority
- Gloucestershire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01594810271
About this school
Coalway Primary School is a community primary school in Coleford. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 193 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Coalway 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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
- 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 | 53 | 58 | 57 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 68% | 62% | 72% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 15% | 3% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 77% | 79% | 84% |
| Expected standard in maths | 72% | 72% | 81% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 75% | 76% | 77% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 103.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.80 | - | - |
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 Coalway 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 | Gloucestershire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 68% | 58.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 62% | 56.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 72% | 59.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 221 |
| 2023/24 | 224 |
| 2024/25 | 211 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Coalway Primary School compares
Coalway Primary School ranked 58th of 209 primary schools in Gloucestershire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 72% | 5.2% | 30.8% | 193 | — |
| St John's C of E Academy | 54% | 4.1% | 37% | 155 | 1.0 miles |
| Ellwood Primary School | 56% | 4.6% | 19.9% | 139 | 1.3 miles |
| Berry Hill Primary School | 60% | 4.3% | 18.5% | 201 | 1.6 miles |
| Clearwell Church of England Primary School | — | 6.9% | 23.8% | 41 | 2.0 miles |
| Parkend Primary School | 83% | 5.8% | 23.3% | 68 | 2.7 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)
- 30.81%
- English as an additional language
- 1.9%
- Overall absence
- 5.16%
- Persistent absence
- 13.64%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St John's C of E Academy1.0 miles
Primary · Coleford
-
Ellwood Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Coleford
-
Berry Hill Primary School1.6 miles
Primary · Coleford
-
Clearwell Church of England Primary School2.0 miles
Primary · Coleford
-
Parkend Primary School2.7 miles
Primary · Lydney
Other schools in Coleford
- Berry Hill Primary School Primary
- Clearwell Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ellwood Primary School Primary
- English Bicknor Church of England Primary School Primary
- St John's C of E Academy Primary
- Five Acres High School Secondary
- Heart of the Forest Community Special School Special schools
Common questions
- What ages does Coalway Primary School teach?
- Coalway Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Coleford.
- Who is the head teacher of Coalway Primary School?
- The head teacher of Coalway Primary School is Mr James Barrow, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Coalway Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Coalway 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 Coalway Primary School?
- Coalway Primary School has 193 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Coalway Primary School full?
- Coalway Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 193 on roll (46%), 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 Coalway Primary School a faith school?
- No. Coalway Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Coalway Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Coalway Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Coalway Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 68% in 2022/23 and 72% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Coalway Primary School compare with other schools in Gloucestershire?
- Coalway Primary School ranked 58th of 209 primary schools in Gloucestershire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Coalway Primary School's absence rate?
- Coalway Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Coalway Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Coalway 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 6 July 2026.