North Petherton Primary School
School Fields, North Petherton, Bridgwater, TA6 6LU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Head Teacher
- Mrs Melanie Lawson
- Constituency
- Bridgwater
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 409
- URN
- 135830
- Local authority
- Somerset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01278662442
About this school
North Petherton Primary School is a community primary school in Bridgwater. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 409 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected North Petherton 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Needs attention
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Early years
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 56 | 62 | 55 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 75% | 63% | 69% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 0% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 80% | 69% | 82% |
| Expected standard in maths | 80% | 71% | 75% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 80% | 63% | 84% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.50 | - | - |
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 North Petherton 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 | Somerset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 75% | 54.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 63% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 69% | 57.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 403 |
| 2023/24 | 412 |
| 2024/25 | 408 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How North Petherton Primary School compares
North Petherton Primary School ranked 44th of 155 primary schools in Somerset for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 69% | 4.8% | 18.1% | 409 | — |
| North Newton Community Primary School | 64% | 6.4% | 20% | 93 | 1.3 miles |
| Somerset Bridge Primary School | 73% | 4.8% | 28.8% | 407 | 1.6 miles |
| Hamp Academy | 49% | 7.3% | 50.5% | 307 | 1.9 miles |
| Hamp Nursery and Infants' School | — | 8.1% | 33.2% | 234 | 2.0 miles |
| St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School | 72% | 4.1% | 8.6% | 490 | 2.4 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report2 December 2025
- 29 September 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 18.14%
- English as an additional language
- 7.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.78%
- Persistent absence
- 11.33%
Location
Nearby schools
-
North Newton Community Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Bridgwater
-
Somerset Bridge Primary School1.6 miles
Primary · Bridgwater
-
Hamp Academy1.9 miles
Primary · Bridgwater
-
Hamp Nursery and Infants' School2.0 miles
Primary · Bridgwater
-
St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School2.4 miles
Primary · Bridgwater
Other schools in Bridgwater
North Petherton Primary School ranks 7th of the 26 ranked primary schools in Bridgwater.
- Ashcott Primary School Primary
- Cannington Church of England Primary School Primary
- Catcott Primary School Primary
- Eastover Primary School Primary
- Enmore Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hamp Academy Primary
- Hamp Nursery and Infants' School Primary
- Kingsmoor Primary School Primary
- Middlezoy Primary School Primary
- Nether Stowey Church of England Primary School Primary
- North Newton Community Primary School Primary
- Northgate Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does North Petherton Primary School teach?
- North Petherton Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Bridgwater.
- Who is the head teacher of North Petherton Primary School?
- The head teacher of North Petherton Primary School is Mrs Melanie Lawson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has North Petherton Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected North Petherton 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 North Petherton Primary School?
- North Petherton Primary School has 409 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is North Petherton Primary School full?
- North Petherton Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 409 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 North Petherton Primary School a faith school?
- No. North Petherton Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does North Petherton Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records North Petherton Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have North Petherton Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 75% in 2022/23 and 69% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does North Petherton Primary School compare with other schools in Somerset?
- North Petherton Primary School ranked 44th of 155 primary schools in Somerset for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is North Petherton Primary School's absence rate?
- North Petherton Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are North Petherton Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, North Petherton 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.