Heron Primary School
Heron Way, Abbeydale, Gloucester, GL4 4BN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Headteacher
- Mrs Claire Brookes
- Constituency
- Gloucester
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 402
- URN
- 115749
- Local authority
- Gloucestershire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01452415105
About this school
Heron Primary School is a foundation primary school in Gloucester. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 402 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
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
- 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 | 58 | 60 | 58 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 53% | 68% | 55% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 8% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 71% | 87% | 76% |
| Expected standard in maths | 71% | 83% | 66% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 86% | 88% | 79% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 106.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.10 | - | - |
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 Heron 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 | 53% | 58.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 68% | 56.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 55% | 59.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 413 |
| 2023/24 | 407 |
| 2024/25 | 399 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Heron Primary School compares
Heron Primary School ranked 148th of 209 primary schools in Gloucestershire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55% | 5.8% | 15.5% | 402 | — |
| Hillside Primary School | 38% | 6.4% | 41.2% | 495 | 0.5 miles |
| Abbeymead Primary School | 61% | 5% | 15.6% | 421 | 0.5 miles |
| Coney Hill Community Primary School | 67% | 4.5% | 30.6% | 241 | 0.8 miles |
| Upton St Leonards Church of England Primary School | 78% | 3.5% | 11.1% | 420 | 0.8 miles |
| Finlay Community School | 80% | 7.3% | 43.2% | 412 | 0.9 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
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 15.54%
- English as an additional language
- 10%
- Overall absence
- 5.81%
- Persistent absence
- 12.77%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hillside Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Gloucester
-
Abbeymead Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Gloucester
-
Coney Hill Community Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Gloucester
-
Upton St Leonards Church of England Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Gloucester
-
Finlay Community School0.9 miles
Primary · Gloucester
Other schools in Gloucester
Heron Primary School ranks 38th of the 53 ranked primary schools in Gloucester.
- Abbeymead Primary School Primary
- Ashleworth Church of England Primary School Primary
- Barnwood Church of England Primary School Primary
- Beech Green Primary School Primary
- Birdlip Primary School Primary
- Calton Primary School Primary
- Castle Hill Primary School Primary
- Churcham Primary School Primary
- Churchdown Parton Manor Infant School Primary
- Churchdown Parton Manor Junior School Primary
- Churchdown Village Infant School Primary
- Churchdown Village Junior School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Heron Primary School teach?
- Heron Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Gloucester.
- Who is the headteacher of Heron Primary School?
- The headteacher of Heron Primary School is Mrs Claire Brookes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Heron Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Heron 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 Heron Primary School?
- Heron Primary School has 402 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Heron Primary School full?
- Heron Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 402 on roll (96%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Heron Primary School a faith school?
- No. Heron Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Heron Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Heron Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Heron 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 55% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Heron Primary School rank locally?
- Heron Primary School ranked 148th of 209 primary schools in Gloucestershire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Heron Primary School's absence rate?
- Heron Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Heron Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Heron 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 30 June 2026.