Harwell Primary School
The Styles, Harwell, Didcot, OX11 0HX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Bryn Gibson
- Constituency
- Didcot and Wantage
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 210
- URN
- 123062
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01235835337
About this school
Harwell Primary School is a community primary school in Didcot. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 210 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Harwell 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 14 September 2022, 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 | 30 | 30 | 26 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 60% | 77% | 62% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 10% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 70% | 83% | 77% |
| Expected standard in maths | 63% | 90% | 65% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 63% | 83% | 62% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 107.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 106.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.80 | - | - |
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 Harwell 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 | Oxfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 60% | 58.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 77% | 59.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 62% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 206 |
| 2023/24 | 205 |
| 2024/25 | 208 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Harwell Primary School compares
Harwell Primary School ranked 129th of 228 primary schools in Oxfordshire 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 89% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 62% | 3.8% | 16.8% | 210 | — |
| St Blaise CofE Primary School | 56% | 4.8% | 22.9% | 169 | 1.2 miles |
| Didcot Primary Academy | 80% | 3.9% | 12.4% | 451 | 1.3 miles |
| Aureus Primary School | 78% | 4.4% | 7.8% | 450 | 1.4 miles |
| Stephen Freeman Primary School | — | 5% | 19.4% | 450 | 1.7 miles |
| St Amand's Catholic Primary School | 67% | 4.9% | 16.3% | 90 | 1.8 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)
- 16.83%
- English as an additional language
- 9.1%
- Overall absence
- 3.76%
- Persistent absence
- 7.78%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Blaise CofE Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Abingdon
-
Didcot Primary Academy1.3 miles
Primary · Didcot
-
Aureus Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Didcot
-
Stephen Freeman Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Didcot
-
St Amand's Catholic Primary School1.8 miles
Primary · Wantage
Other schools in Didcot
Harwell Primary School ranks 9th of the 12 ranked primary schools in Didcot.
- All Saints Church of England Primary School Primary
- Aureus Primary School Primary
- Blewbury Church of England Primary School Primary
- Chilton County Primary School Primary
- Didcot Primary Academy Primary
- Hagbourne Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ladygrove Park Primary School Primary
- Manor Primary School Primary
- Northbourne Church of England Primary School Primary
- Sires Hill Primary Academy Primary
- South Moreton Primary School Primary
- Stephen Freeman Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Harwell Primary School teach?
- Harwell Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Didcot.
- Who is the headteacher of Harwell Primary School?
- The headteacher of Harwell Primary School is Mr Bryn Gibson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Harwell Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Harwell 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 Harwell Primary School?
- Harwell Primary School has 210 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Harwell Primary School full?
- Harwell Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 210 on roll (100%), so it is at or above 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 Harwell Primary School a faith school?
- No. Harwell Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Harwell Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Harwell Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Harwell Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 60% 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 Harwell Primary School compare with other schools in Oxfordshire?
- Harwell Primary School ranked 129th of 228 primary schools in Oxfordshire 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 89% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Harwell Primary School's absence rate?
- Harwell Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Harwell Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Harwell 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.