Magdalen Gates Primary School
Bull Close Road, Norwich, NR3 1NG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Miss Dhinasha Balachandre
- Constituency
- Norwich North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 194
- URN
- 120932
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01603622675
About this school
Magdalen Gates Primary School is a community primary school in Norwich. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 194 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Magdalen Gates 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
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 | 27 | 29 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 30% | 55% | 62% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 56% | 79% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 59% | 76% | 69% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 48% | 66% | 59% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 102.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.50 | - | - |
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 Magdalen Gates 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 | Norfolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 30% | 49.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 55% | 49.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 62% | 52.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 201 |
| 2023/24 | 202 |
| 2024/25 | 205 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Magdalen Gates Primary School compares
Magdalen Gates Primary School ranked 99th of 266 primary schools in Norfolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 45% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 62% | 6.2% | 26.3% | 194 | — |
| George White Junior School | 50% | 5.2% | 37.2% | 218 | 0.3 miles |
| Angel Road Junior School | 68% | 4.5% | 34.6% | 192 | 0.3 miles |
| Angel Road Infant School | — | 6.1% | 26.2% | 155 | 0.4 miles |
| Mousehold Infant & Nursery School | — | 5.7% | 20.6% | 224 | 0.4 miles |
| St. Clements Hill Primary Academy | 46% | 4.5% | 16.8% | 298 | 0.7 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 26.34%
- English as an additional language
- 39%
- Overall absence
- 6.17%
- Persistent absence
- 11.76%
Location
Nearby schools
-
George White Junior School0.3 miles
Primary · Norwich
-
Angel Road Junior School0.3 miles
Primary · Norwich
-
Angel Road Infant School0.4 miles
Primary · Norwich
-
Mousehold Infant & Nursery School0.4 miles
Primary · Norwich
-
St. Clements Hill Primary Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Norwich
Other schools in Norwich
Magdalen Gates Primary School ranks 42nd of the 102 ranked primary schools in Norwich.
- Acle Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Aldborough Primary School Primary
- Alpington and Bergh Apton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Angel Road Infant School Primary
- Angel Road Junior School Primary
- Antingham and Southrepps Primary School Primary
- Arden Grove Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Aslacton Primary School Primary
- Avenue Junior School Primary
- Bacton Primary School Primary
- Banham Primary School Primary
- Barford Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Magdalen Gates Primary School teach?
- Magdalen Gates Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Norwich.
- Who is the headteacher of Magdalen Gates Primary School?
- The headteacher of Magdalen Gates Primary School is Miss Dhinasha Balachandre, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Magdalen Gates Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Magdalen Gates 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 Magdalen Gates Primary School?
- Magdalen Gates Primary School has 194 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Magdalen Gates Primary School full?
- Magdalen Gates Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 194 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 Magdalen Gates Primary School a faith school?
- No. Magdalen Gates Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Magdalen Gates Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Magdalen Gates Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Magdalen Gates Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 30% in 2022/23 and 62% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Magdalen Gates Primary School compare with other schools in Norfolk?
- Magdalen Gates Primary School ranked 99th of 266 primary schools in Norfolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 45% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Magdalen Gates Primary School's absence rate?
- Magdalen Gates Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Magdalen Gates Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Magdalen Gates 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.