Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School
Hillcrest, Bexwell Road, Downham Market, PE38 9ND
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Matthew Try
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- South West Norfolk
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 404
- URN
- 121013
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01366388191
About this school
Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School is a community primary school in Downham Market. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 404 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Downham Market, Hillcrest 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 28 June 2023, 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 | 83 | 91 | 59 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 59% | 64% | 71% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 7% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | 79% | 83% |
| Expected standard in maths | 72% | 79% | 86% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 78% | 76% | 83% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.30 | - | - |
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 Downham Market, Hillcrest 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 | 59% | 49.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 64% | 49.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 71% | 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 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 465 |
| 2023/24 | 440 |
| 2024/25 | 411 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School compares
Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School ranked 47th of 266 primary schools in Norfolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 71% | 4.9% | 21.4% | 404 | — |
| Nelson Academy | 63% | 6.5% | 35% | 386 | 0.7 miles |
| Wimbotsham and Stow Academy | 56% | 5.3% | 8.8% | 106 | 1.0 miles |
| Denver Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 76% | 4.6% | 20.4% | 108 | 1.2 miles |
| Hilgay Riverside Academy | 60% | 5.6% | 33.8% | 75 | 3.2 miles |
| Holy Cross Church of England Primary School | 40% | 2.7% | 33.3% | 55 | 3.3 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)
- 21.41%
- English as an additional language
- 10.5%
- Overall absence
- 4.85%
- Persistent absence
- 10.86%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Nelson Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Downham Market
-
Wimbotsham and Stow Academy1.0 miles
Primary · King's Lynn
-
Denver Voluntary Controlled Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Downham Market
-
Hilgay Riverside Academy3.2 miles
Primary · Downham Market
-
Holy Cross Church of England Primary School3.3 miles
Primary · King's Lynn
Other schools in Downham Market
Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School ranks 2nd of the 5 ranked primary schools in Downham Market.
- Denver Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Hilgay Riverside Academy Primary
- Nelson Academy Primary
- Southery Academy Primary
- Downham Market Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School teach?
- Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Downham Market.
- Who is the headteacher of Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School?
- The headteacher of Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School is Mr Matthew Try, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Downham Market, Hillcrest 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 Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School?
- Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School has 404 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School full?
- Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 404 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 Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School a faith school?
- No. Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 59% in 2022/23 and 71% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School compare with other schools in Norfolk?
- Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School ranked 47th of 266 primary schools in Norfolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School's absence rate?
- Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Downham Market, Hillcrest 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.