Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School
Gunnsbrook Close, Great Bowden, Market Harborough, LE16 7HZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- LEARN ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Rebecca Blagburn
- Diocese
- Diocese of Leicester
- Sponsor
- Learn Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Harborough, Oadby and Wigston
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 157
- Pupils on roll
- 137
- URN
- 138359
- Local authority
- Leicestershire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01858463216
About this school
Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School is a Church of England primary academy in Market Harborough. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 137 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 17 | 13 | 20 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 76% | 69% | 60% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 8% | 10% |
| Expected standard in reading | 94% | 85% | 80% |
| Expected standard in maths | 76% | 69% | 70% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 82% | 54% | 75% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 110.0 | 109.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.10 | - | - |
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 Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England 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 | Leicestershire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 76% | 60.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 69% | 60.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 60% | 61.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 123 |
| 2023/24 | 136 |
| 2024/25 | 138 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School compares
Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School ranked 119th of 211 primary schools in Leicestershire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 40% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 60% | 4% | 11.6% | 137 | — |
| Ridgeway Primary Academy | 59% | 5.3% | 12.3% | 234 | 0.5 miles |
| Meadowdale Primary School | 57% | 4.1% | 8.4% | 389 | 0.8 miles |
| Market Harborough Church of England Academy | 75% | 3.3% | 14.1% | 392 | 1.2 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy | 70% | 3.9% | 13.8% | 190 | 1.3 miles |
| Little Bowden School | 68% | 4.5% | 11.7% | 368 | 1.3 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 11.59%
- English as an additional language
- 3.6%
- Overall absence
- 3.99%
- Persistent absence
- 5.56%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ridgeway Primary Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Market Harborough
-
Meadowdale Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Market Harborough
-
Market Harborough Church of England Academy1.2 miles
Primary · Market Harborough
-
St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy1.3 miles
Primary · Market Harborough
-
Little Bowden School1.3 miles
Primary · Market Harborough
Other schools in Market Harborough
Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School ranks 10th of the 15 ranked primary schools in Market Harborough.
- Bringhurst Primary School Primary
- Church Langton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Clipston Endowed Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Cottingham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Farndon Fields Primary School Primary
- Foxton Primary School Primary
- Hallaton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Little Bowden School Primary
- Lubenham All Saints Church of England Primary School Primary
- Market Harborough Church of England Academy Primary
- Meadowdale Primary School Primary
- Ridgeway Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School teach?
- Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Market Harborough.
- Who is the headteacher of Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School is Mrs Rebecca Blagburn, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England 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 Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School?
- Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School has 137 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School full?
- Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School has capacity for 157 pupils and 137 on roll (87%), 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 Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Leicester.
- Does Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School?
- Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School is part of LEARN ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 76% in 2022/23 and 60% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School rank locally?
- Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School ranked 119th of 211 primary schools in Leicestershire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 40% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School's overall absence rate is 4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England 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.