John Hellins Primary School
Brownswood Drive, Potterspury, Towcester, NN12 7PG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jodie Matthews
- Constituency
- South Northamptonshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 202
- URN
- 121851
- Local authority
- West Northamptonshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01908542405
About this school
John Hellins Primary School is a community primary school in Towcester. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 202 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- 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 | 27 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 100% | 93% | 93% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 19% | 26% | 27% |
| Expected standard in reading | 100% | 100% | 93% |
| Expected standard in maths | 100% | 100% | 93% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 100% | 100% | 87% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 112.0 | 112.0 | 111.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 110.0 | 110.0 | 109.0 |
| Reading progress | +5.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +6.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.90 | - | - |
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 John Hellins 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 | West Northamptonshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 100% | 57.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 93% | 60.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 93% | 60.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 207 |
| 2023/24 | 208 |
| 2024/25 | 201 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How John Hellins Primary School compares
John Hellins Primary School ranked 3rd of 140 primary schools in West Northamptonshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 99% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 71% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 93% | 4.5% | 8.5% | 202 | — |
| Yardley Gobion Church of England Primary School | 53% | 5.9% | 15.9% | 87 | 1.0 miles |
| Old Stratford Primary School | 64% | 3.8% | 12.5% | 162 | 1.7 miles |
| Cosgrove Village Primary School | 44% | 12.9% | 22.2% | 39 | 2.0 miles |
| Deanshanger Primary School | 57% | 4.2% | 13.9% | 257 | 2.3 miles |
| St Mary and St Giles Church of England School | 67% | 5.1% | 38.3% | 350 | 2.4 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)
- 8.46%
- English as an additional language
- 6.5%
- Overall absence
- 4.51%
- Persistent absence
- 6.59%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Yardley Gobion Church of England Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Towcester
-
Old Stratford Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Milton Keynes
-
Cosgrove Village Primary School2.0 miles
Primary · Cosgrove
-
Deanshanger Primary School2.3 miles
Primary · Milton Keynes
-
St Mary and St Giles Church of England School2.4 miles
Primary · Milton Keynes
Other schools in Towcester
John Hellins Primary School ranks 1st of the 12 ranked primary schools in Towcester.
- Blakesley Church of England Primary School Primary
- Greens Norton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Marie Weller Primary School Primary
- Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School Primary
- Pattishall Church of England Primary School Primary
- Paulerspury Church of England Primary School Primary
- Silverstone Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Loys Church of England Primary Academy, Weedon Lois Primary
- Stoke Bruerne Church of England Primary School Primary
- Tiffield Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Towcester Church of England Primary School Primary
- Whittlebury Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does John Hellins Primary School teach?
- John Hellins Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Towcester.
- Who is the headteacher of John Hellins Primary School?
- The headteacher of John Hellins Primary School is Mrs Jodie Matthews, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was John Hellins Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected John Hellins 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 John Hellins Primary School?
- John Hellins Primary School has 202 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is John Hellins Primary School full?
- John Hellins Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 202 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 John Hellins Primary School a faith school?
- No. John Hellins Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does John Hellins Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records John Hellins Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have John Hellins Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 100% in 2022/23 and 93% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does John Hellins Primary School rank locally?
- John Hellins Primary School ranked 3rd of 140 primary schools in West Northamptonshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 99% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 71% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is John Hellins Primary School's absence rate?
- John Hellins Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are John Hellins Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, John Hellins 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.