Costessey Primary School
Three Mile Lane, Costessey, Norwich, NR5 0RR
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- EVOLUTION ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Miss Zara Lambert
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Evolution Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Norwich South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 630
- Pupils on roll
- 559
- URN
- 138642
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01603742203
About this school
Costessey Primary School is a primary academy in Norwich. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 559 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Costessey 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
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
- Outstanding
- 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 | 104 | 92 | 91 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 54% | 62% | 55% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 7% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 70% | 77% | 80% |
| Expected standard in maths | 64% | 75% | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 68% | 68% | 75% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | 0.00 | - | - |
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 Costessey 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 | Norfolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 54% | 49.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 62% | 49.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 55% | 52.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 582 |
| 2023/24 | 533 |
| 2024/25 | 581 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Costessey Primary School compares
Costessey Primary School ranked 146th of 266 primary schools in Norfolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55% | 4.7% | 28.4% | 559 | — |
| St Michael's VA Junior School | 69% | 4.9% | 36.4% | 423 | 0.4 miles |
| Chapel Break Infant School | — | 5.6% | 19.1% | 159 | 0.5 miles |
| Clover Hill VA Infant and Nursery School | — | 6.9% | 25.2% | 210 | 0.6 miles |
| Valley Primary Academy | 67% | 6% | 43.8% | 153 | 1.0 miles |
| St Augustine's Catholic Primary School, Costessey | 56% | 4.7% | 9.6% | 315 | 1.0 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)
- 28.44%
- English as an additional language
- 9.6%
- Overall absence
- 4.69%
- Persistent absence
- 10.55%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Michael's VA Junior School0.4 miles
Primary · Norwich
-
Chapel Break Infant School0.5 miles
Primary · Norwich
-
Clover Hill VA Infant and Nursery School0.6 miles
Primary · Norwich
-
Valley Primary Academy1.0 miles
Primary · Norwich
-
St Augustine's Catholic Primary School, Costessey1.0 miles
Primary · Norwich
Other schools in Norwich
Costessey Primary School ranks 59th of the 102 ranked primary schools in Norwich.
- Acle Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Aldborough Primary School Primary
- Alpington and Bergh Apton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Angel Road Infant School Primary
- Angel Road Junior School Primary
- Antingham and Southrepps Primary School Primary
- Arden Grove Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Aslacton Primary School Primary
- Avenue Junior School Primary
- Bacton Primary School Primary
- Banham Primary School Primary
- Barford Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Costessey Primary School teach?
- Costessey Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Norwich.
- Who is the principal of Costessey Primary School?
- The principal of Costessey Primary School is Miss Zara Lambert, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Costessey Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Costessey 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 Costessey Primary School?
- Costessey Primary School has 559 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Costessey Primary School full?
- Costessey Primary School has capacity for 630 pupils and 559 on roll (89%), 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 Costessey Primary School a faith school?
- No. Costessey Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Costessey Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Costessey Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is Costessey Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Costessey Primary School is part of EVOLUTION ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Costessey Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 54% in 2022/23 and 55% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Costessey Primary School compare with other schools in Norfolk?
- Costessey Primary School ranked 146th of 266 primary schools in Norfolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Costessey Primary School's absence rate?
- Costessey Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Costessey Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Costessey 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.