Bessemer Grange Primary School
Dylways, London, SE5 8HP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Ms Sarah Beard
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Dulwich and West Norwood
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 690
- Pupils on roll
- 515
- URN
- 130918
- Local authority
- Southwark
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02072742520
About this school
Bessemer Grange Primary School is a community primary school in London. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 515 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Bessemer Grange 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 23 May 2024, 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 | 65 | 79 | 69 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 62% | 76% | 78% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 26% | 27% | 28% |
| Expected standard in reading | 68% | 82% | 90% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 86% | 88% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 80% | 86% | 91% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 108.0 | 112.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 108.0 | 109.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.20 | - | - |
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 Bessemer Grange 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 | Southwark average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 62% | 65.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 76% | 63.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 78% | 65.5% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 558 |
| 2023/24 | 566 |
| 2024/25 | 533 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bessemer Grange Primary School compares
Bessemer Grange Primary School ranked 14th of 63 primary schools in Southwark for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 83% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 78% | 4.1% | 27.2% | 515 | — |
| Dulwich Village Church of England Infants' School | — | 3.4% | 8.9% | 265 | 0.5 miles |
| Goose Green Primary and Nursery School | 55% | 5.5% | 49.3% | 210 | 0.5 miles |
| Judith Kerr Primary School | 86% | 3.7% | 3.9% | 409 | 0.5 miles |
| Grove Primary School | 56% | 5.4% | 43.4% | 205 | 0.5 miles |
| Harris Primary Academy East Dulwich | 89% | 3.5% | 16.5% | 346 | 0.5 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)
- 27.19%
- English as an additional language
- 15.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.06%
- Persistent absence
- 11.55%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Dulwich Village Church of England Infants' School0.5 miles
Primary · London
-
Goose Green Primary and Nursery School0.5 miles
Primary · London
-
Judith Kerr Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · London
-
Grove Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · London
-
Harris Primary Academy East Dulwich0.5 miles
Primary · London
Other schools in London
Bessemer Grange Primary School ranks 316th of the 948 ranked primary schools in London.
- Abacus Belsize Primary School Primary
- Acton Gardens Primary School Primary
- Adamsrill Primary School Primary
- Addison Primary School Primary
- Ainslie Wood Primary School Primary
- Akiva School Primary
- Albemarle Primary School Primary
- Albion Primary School Primary
- Alderbrook Primary School Primary
- Aldersbrook Primary School Primary
- Alderwood Primary School Primary
- Alexander McLeod Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Bessemer Grange Primary School teach?
- Bessemer Grange Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of Bessemer Grange Primary School?
- The headteacher of Bessemer Grange Primary School is Ms Sarah Beard, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Bessemer Grange Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bessemer Grange 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 Bessemer Grange Primary School?
- Bessemer Grange Primary School has 515 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Bessemer Grange Primary School full?
- Bessemer Grange Primary School has capacity for 690 pupils and 515 on roll (75%), 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 Bessemer Grange Primary School a faith school?
- No. Bessemer Grange Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Bessemer Grange Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Bessemer Grange Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Bessemer Grange Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 62% in 2022/23 and 78% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bessemer Grange Primary School compare with other schools in Southwark?
- Bessemer Grange Primary School ranked 14th of 63 primary schools in Southwark for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 83% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bessemer Grange Primary School's absence rate?
- Bessemer Grange Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bessemer Grange Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bessemer Grange 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.