Ordsall Primary School
Ordsall Road, Retford, DN22 7SL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Karl Hopkinson
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Bassetlaw
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 594
- Pupils on roll
- 576
- URN
- 134028
- Local authority
- Nottinghamshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01777702852
About this school
Ordsall Primary School is a community primary school in Retford. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 576 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Requires improvement
- 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 | 80 | 89 | 78 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 56% | 54% | 58% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 6% | 1% |
| Expected standard in reading | 69% | 61% | 64% |
| Expected standard in maths | 78% | 70% | 67% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 65% | 62% | 50% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 103.0 | 101.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 104.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | 0.00 | - | - |
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 Ordsall 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 | Nottinghamshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 56% | 58.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 54% | 59.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 58% | 61.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 587 |
| 2023/24 | 587 |
| 2024/25 | 578 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ordsall Primary School compares
Ordsall Primary School ranked 165th of 226 primary schools in Nottinghamshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 36% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 58% | 6.5% | 34.3% | 576 | — |
| Thrumpton Primary Academy | 61% | 6.3% | 36.2% | 223 | 0.5 miles |
| St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy | 70% | 5.1% | 19.6% | 224 | 0.8 miles |
| Bracken Lane Primary Academy | 72% | 4.1% | 17.6% | 233 | 0.9 miles |
| St Swithun's Church of England Primary Academy | 17% | 7.6% | 55.4% | 92 | 0.9 miles |
| Hallcroft Infant and Nursery School | — | 4.4% | 32.3% | 90 | 1.4 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 34.29%
- English as an additional language
- 4.3%
- Overall absence
- 6.45%
- Persistent absence
- 18.16%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Thrumpton Primary Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Retford
-
St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Retford
-
Bracken Lane Primary Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Retford
-
St Swithun's Church of England Primary Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Retford
-
Hallcroft Infant and Nursery School1.4 miles
Primary · Retford
Other schools in Retford
Ordsall Primary School ranks 9th of the 16 ranked primary schools in Retford.
- Bracken Lane Primary Academy Primary
- Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Clarborough Primary School Primary
- Elkesley Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Gamston St Peter's CofE Primary School Primary
- Hallcroft Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Leverton Church of England Academy Primary
- North Wheatley Church of England Primary School Primary
- Rampton Primary School Primary
- Ranby CofE Primary School Primary
- Ranskill Primary School Primary
- St Swithun's Church of England Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Ordsall Primary School teach?
- Ordsall Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Retford.
- Who is the headteacher of Ordsall Primary School?
- The headteacher of Ordsall Primary School is Mr Karl Hopkinson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Ordsall Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ordsall 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 Ordsall Primary School?
- Ordsall Primary School has 576 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Ordsall Primary School full?
- Ordsall Primary School has capacity for 594 pupils and 576 on roll (97%), 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 Ordsall Primary School a faith school?
- No. Ordsall Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Ordsall Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Ordsall Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Ordsall Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 56% in 2022/23 and 58% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ordsall Primary School rank locally?
- Ordsall Primary School ranked 165th of 226 primary schools in Nottinghamshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 36% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ordsall Primary School's absence rate?
- Ordsall Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ordsall Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ordsall 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 1 July 2026.