Birchwood Primary School
Valiant Road, Martlesham Heath, Ipswich, IP5 3SP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Philippa Wake
- Constituency
- Suffolk Coastal
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 209
- URN
- 124681
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01473610701
About this school
Birchwood Primary School is a community primary school in Ipswich. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 209 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Birchwood 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 December 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding. 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 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 40% | 67% | 73% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 7% | 17% |
| Expected standard in reading | 67% | 80% | 83% |
| Expected standard in maths | 50% | 77% | 80% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 53% | 60% | 80% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 105.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 104.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.00 | - | - |
| 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 Birchwood 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 | Suffolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 40% | 54.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 67% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 73% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 208 |
| 2023/24 | 208 |
| 2024/25 | 206 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Birchwood Primary School compares
Birchwood Primary School ranked 41st of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 73% | 3.6% | 8.7% | 209 | — |
| Gorseland Primary School | 63% | 4.3% | 10.5% | 461 | 0.4 miles |
| Martlesham Primary Academy | 75% | 4.3% | 27.6% | 125 | 0.8 miles |
| Cedarwood Primary School | 57% | 4.1% | 9.2% | 399 | 1.2 miles |
| Heath Primary School, Kesgrave | 58% | 4.8% | 12.5% | 523 | 1.6 miles |
| Bealings School | 53% | 7.3% | 1% | 104 | 1.9 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)
- 8.74%
- English as an additional language
- 8.7%
- Overall absence
- 3.63%
- Persistent absence
- 7.1%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Gorseland Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Ipswich
-
Martlesham Primary Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Woodbridge
-
Cedarwood Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Ipswich
-
Heath Primary School, Kesgrave1.6 miles
Primary · Ipswich
-
Bealings School1.9 miles
Primary · Woodbridge
Other schools in Ipswich
Birchwood Primary School ranks 6th of the 55 ranked primary schools in Ipswich.
- Bentley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Bildeston Primary School Primary
- Bosmere Community Primary School Primary
- Bramford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Britannia Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Broke Hall Community Primary School Primary
- Bucklesham Primary School Primary
- Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Castle Hill Infant School Primary
- Castle Hill Junior School Primary
- Cedarwood Primary School Primary
- Chelmondiston Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Birchwood Primary School teach?
- Birchwood Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Ipswich.
- Who is the headteacher of Birchwood Primary School?
- The headteacher of Birchwood Primary School is Mrs Philippa Wake, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Birchwood Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Birchwood 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 Birchwood Primary School?
- Birchwood Primary School has 209 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Birchwood Primary School full?
- Birchwood Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 209 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 Birchwood Primary School a faith school?
- No. Birchwood Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Birchwood Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Birchwood Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Birchwood Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 40% in 2022/23 and 73% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Birchwood Primary School compare with other schools in Suffolk?
- Birchwood Primary School ranked 41st of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Birchwood Primary School's absence rate?
- Birchwood Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Birchwood Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Birchwood 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.