Lift Barton Hill
Barton Hill Road, Torquay, TQ2 8JA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- LIFT SCHOOLS
- Headteacher
- Ms Samantha Smith
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Lift Schools
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication
- Constituency
- Torbay
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 674
- Pupils on roll
- 568
- URN
- 138369
- Local authority
- Torbay
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01803327161
About this school
Lift Barton Hill is a primary academy in Torquay. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 568 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Lift Barton Hill, and its latest judgement is set out 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
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
- Outstanding
- 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 | 90 | 74 | 89 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | 70% | 74% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 8% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 67% | 76% | 82% |
| Expected standard in maths | 80% | 77% | 76% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 64% | 64% | 74% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.80 | - | - |
| 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 Lift Barton Hill has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Torbay average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 63% | 57% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 70% | 57.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 74% | 57.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 645 |
| 2023/24 | 625 |
| 2024/25 | 603 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Lift Barton Hill compares
Lift Barton Hill ranked 7th of 30 primary schools in Torbay for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 74% | 5.9% | 41% | 568 | — |
| Watcombe Primary School | 37% | 6.3% | 34.4% | 221 | 0.6 miles |
| Priory Roman Catholic Primary School, Torquay | 44% | 8% | 34.4% | 107 | 0.8 miles |
| St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School | 53% | 4.6% | 31.9% | 241 | 0.8 miles |
| St Margaret's Academy | 54% | 5.4% | 27.4% | 382 | 0.8 miles |
| Homelands Primary School | 57% | 7.7% | 36.1% | 208 | 0.9 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)
- 40.99%
- English as an additional language
- 9.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.89%
- Persistent absence
- 14.98%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Watcombe Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
Priory Roman Catholic Primary School, Torquay0.8 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School0.8 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
St Margaret's Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
Homelands Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Torquay
Other schools in Torquay
Lift Barton Hill ranks 5th of the 17 ranked primary schools in Torquay.
- All Saints Babbacombe CofE Primary School Primary
- Cockington Primary School Primary
- Ellacombe Church of England Academy Primary
- Homelands Primary School Primary
- Ilsham Church of England Academy Primary
- Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Primary School Primary
- Preston Primary School Primary
- Priory Roman Catholic Primary School, Torquay Primary
- Sherwell Valley Primary School Primary
- Shiphay Learning Academy Primary
- St Margaret's Academy Primary
- St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Lift Barton Hill teach?
- Lift Barton Hill teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Torquay.
- Who is the headteacher of Lift Barton Hill?
- The headteacher of Lift Barton Hill is Ms Samantha Smith, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Lift Barton Hill been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Lift Barton Hill, 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 Lift Barton Hill?
- Lift Barton Hill has 568 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Lift Barton Hill full?
- Lift Barton Hill has capacity for 674 pupils and 568 on roll (84%), 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 Lift Barton Hill a faith school?
- No. Lift Barton Hill has no designated religious character.
- Does Lift Barton Hill have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Lift Barton Hill as having nursery classes.
- Is Lift Barton Hill part of an academy trust?
- Lift Barton Hill is part of LIFT SCHOOLS. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Lift Barton Hill have?
- The schools register lists Lift Barton Hill's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Lift Barton Hill's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 63% in 2022/23 and 74% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Lift Barton Hill compare with other schools in Torbay?
- Lift Barton Hill ranked 7th of 30 primary schools in Torbay for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Lift Barton Hill's absence rate?
- Lift Barton Hill's overall absence rate is 5.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Lift Barton Hill's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Lift Barton Hill'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.