James Watt Primary School
Boulton Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, B21 0RE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Acting Headteacher
- Mr Jonathan Wright
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Birmingham Ladywood
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 480
- Pupils on roll
- 423
- URN
- 134102
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01214644736
About this school
James Watt Primary School is a community primary school in Birmingham. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 423 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected James Watt 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 9 October 2024, where inspectors found some aspects are not as strong as at the previous inspection. 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 | 58 | 57 | 56 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 50% | 60% | 54% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 2% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 52% | 68% | 71% |
| Expected standard in maths | 74% | 68% | 66% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 78% | 68% | 77% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 103.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.20 | - | - |
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 James Watt 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 | Birmingham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50% | 55.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 60% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 54% | 60.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 440 |
| 2023/24 | 443 |
| 2024/25 | 446 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How James Watt Primary School compares
James Watt Primary School ranked 216th of 266 primary schools in Birmingham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 28% 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 | 54% | 6.5% | 53.4% | 423 | — |
| Oasis Academy Boulton | 67% | 6% | 64.5% | 222 | 0.1 miles |
| Oasis Academy Benson | — | 11% | 60.4% | 271 | 0.4 miles |
| Oasis Academy Foundry | 62% | 7.5% | 74% | 211 | 0.4 miles |
| Grove School | 53% | 6.2% | 56% | 606 | 0.5 miles |
| St Michael's CofE Primary Academy, Handsworth | 77% | 4.4% | 58.3% | 204 | 0.6 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)
- 53.35%
- English as an additional language
- 66.8%
- Overall absence
- 6.46%
- Persistent absence
- 19.57%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Oasis Academy Boulton0.1 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
Oasis Academy Benson0.4 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
Oasis Academy Foundry0.4 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
Grove School0.5 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
St Michael's CofE Primary Academy, Handsworth0.6 miles
Primary · Birmingham
Other schools in Birmingham
James Watt Primary School ranks 219th of the 273 ranked primary schools in Birmingham.
- Abbey Catholic Primary School Primary
- Acocks Green Primary School Primary
- Adderley Primary School Primary
- Al-Furqan Primary School Primary
- Albert Bradbeer Primary Academy Primary
- Allens Croft Primary School Primary
- Alston Primary School Primary
- Anderton Park Primary School Primary
- Anglesey Primary School Primary
- Arden Primary School Primary
- Ark Tindal Primary Academy Primary
- Aston Tower Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does James Watt Primary School teach?
- James Watt Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Birmingham.
- Who is the acting headteacher of James Watt Primary School?
- The acting headteacher of James Watt Primary School is Mr Jonathan Wright, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has James Watt Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected James Watt 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 James Watt Primary School?
- James Watt Primary School has 423 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is James Watt Primary School full?
- James Watt Primary School has capacity for 480 pupils and 423 on roll (88%), 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 James Watt Primary School a faith school?
- No. James Watt Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does James Watt Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records James Watt Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have James Watt Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 50% in 2022/23 and 54% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does James Watt Primary School compare with other schools in Birmingham?
- James Watt Primary School ranked 216th of 266 primary schools in Birmingham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 28% 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 James Watt Primary School's absence rate?
- James Watt Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are James Watt Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, James Watt 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.