Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School
Balmoral Close, Towcester, NN12 6JA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE HAWKSMOOR LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Joseph Fulford
- Sponsor
- The Hawksmoor Learning Trust
- Constituency
- South Northamptonshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 429
- URN
- 136480
- Local authority
- West Northamptonshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01327351466
About this school
Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School is a primary academy in Towcester. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 429 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
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
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Early years
- Strong standard
- 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 | 63 | 61 | 62 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 75% | 72% | 79% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 17% | 13% | 16% |
| Expected standard in reading | 84% | 80% | 92% |
| Expected standard in maths | 92% | 93% | 90% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 79% | 84% | 89% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 107.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 107.0 | 110.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.90 | - | - |
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 Nicholas Hawksmoor 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 | West Northamptonshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 75% | 57.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 72% | 60.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 79% | 60.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 423 |
| 2023/24 | 425 |
| 2024/25 | 421 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School compares
Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School ranked 20th of 140 primary schools in West Northamptonshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 93% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 79% | 3.6% | 6.9% | 429 | — |
| Towcester Church of England Primary School | 71% | 4.5% | 19.2% | 267 | 0.5 miles |
| Marie Weller Primary School | — | 4.7% | 11.2% | 245 | 0.9 miles |
| Greens Norton Church of England Primary School | 64% | 3.9% | 10.1% | 129 | 1.6 miles |
| Tiffield Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | 70% | 11.5% | 11.6% | 35 | 2.2 miles |
| Silverstone Church of England Primary School | 83% | 4% | 12.7% | 224 | 2.3 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 report24 February 2026
- 9 November 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 6.89%
- English as an additional language
- 5.2%
- Overall absence
- 3.55%
- Persistent absence
- 7.2%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Towcester Church of England Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Towcester
-
Marie Weller Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Towcester
-
Greens Norton Church of England Primary School1.6 miles
Primary · Towcester
-
Tiffield Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School2.2 miles
Primary · Towcester
-
Silverstone Church of England Primary School2.3 miles
Primary · Towcester
Other schools in Towcester
Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School ranks 4th of the 12 ranked primary schools in Towcester.
- Blakesley Church of England Primary School Primary
- Greens Norton Church of England Primary School Primary
- John Hellins Primary School Primary
- Marie Weller Primary School Primary
- Pattishall Church of England Primary School Primary
- Paulerspury Church of England Primary School Primary
- Silverstone Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Loys Church of England Primary Academy, Weedon Lois Primary
- Stoke Bruerne Church of England Primary School Primary
- Tiffield Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Towcester Church of England Primary School Primary
- Whittlebury Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School teach?
- Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Towcester.
- Who is the headteacher of Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School?
- The headteacher of Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School is Mr Joseph Fulford, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Nicholas Hawksmoor 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 Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School?
- Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School has 429 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School full?
- Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 429 on roll (102%), 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 Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School a faith school?
- No. Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School?
- Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School is part of THE HAWKSMOOR LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Nicholas Hawksmoor 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 79% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School rank locally?
- Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School ranked 20th of 140 primary schools in West Northamptonshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 93% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School's absence rate?
- Nicholas Hawksmoor 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 Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Nicholas Hawksmoor 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.