Redcastle Family School
St Martin's Way, Thetford, IP24 3PU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr James Julian
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- South West Norfolk
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 302
- Pupils on roll
- 277
- URN
- 120905
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01842752239
About this school
Redcastle Family School is a community primary school in Thetford. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 277 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Redcastle Family 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 | 31 | 34 | 33 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 71% | 71% | 70% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 6% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 81% | 76% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 81% | 82% | 85% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 65% | 53% | 61% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 104.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.60 | - | - |
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 Redcastle Family 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 | Norfolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 71% | 49.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 71% | 49.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 70% | 52.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 253 |
| 2023/24 | 258 |
| 2024/25 | 269 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Redcastle Family School compares
Redcastle Family School ranked 56th of 266 primary schools in Norfolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 70% | 5.3% | 40.5% | 277 | — |
| Queensway Junior Academy | 51% | 6.2% | 51.7% | 141 | 0.4 miles |
| Queensway Infant Academy | — | 8.3% | 52% | 101 | 0.4 miles |
| The Bishop's Church of England Primary Academy | 27% | 7.8% | 61.7% | 330 | 0.4 miles |
| Norwich Road Academy | 58% | 6.1% | 30.7% | 317 | 0.7 miles |
| Drake Primary School | 40% | 5.6% | 12.2% | 413 | 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 40.52%
- English as an additional language
- 31.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.32%
- Persistent absence
- 8.82%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Queensway Junior Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Thetford
-
Queensway Infant Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Thetford
-
The Bishop's Church of England Primary Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Thetford
-
Norwich Road Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Thetford
-
Drake Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Thetford
Other schools in Thetford
Redcastle Family School ranks 3rd of the 17 ranked primary schools in Thetford.
- Admirals Academy Primary
- Ashill Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Drake Primary School Primary
- Duchy of Lancaster Methwold CofE Primary School Primary
- Edmund de Moundeford VC Primary School, Feltwell Primary
- Elveden Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Great Hockham Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Norwich Road Academy Primary
- Parker's Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Queensway Infant Academy Primary
- Queensway Junior Academy Primary
- Raleigh Infant Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Redcastle Family School teach?
- Redcastle Family School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Thetford.
- Who is the headteacher of Redcastle Family School?
- The headteacher of Redcastle Family School is Mr James Julian, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Redcastle Family School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Redcastle Family 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 Redcastle Family School?
- Redcastle Family School has 277 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Redcastle Family School full?
- Redcastle Family School has capacity for 302 pupils and 277 on roll (92%), 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 Redcastle Family School a faith school?
- No. Redcastle Family School has no designated religious character.
- Does Redcastle Family School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Redcastle Family School as having nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does Redcastle Family School have?
- The schools register lists Redcastle Family School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Redcastle Family School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 71% in 2022/23 and 70% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Redcastle Family School compare with other schools in Norfolk?
- Redcastle Family School ranked 56th of 266 primary schools in Norfolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Redcastle Family School's absence rate?
- Redcastle Family School's overall absence rate is 5.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Redcastle Family School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Redcastle Family 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.