Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery
Thorn Hill, Briar Hill, Northampton, NN4 8SW
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE DAVID ROSS EDUCATION TRUST
- Head Teacher
- Miss Jane Cooksley
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- The David Ross Education Trust
- Constituency
- Northampton South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 472
- Pupils on roll
- 350
- URN
- 138917
- Local authority
- West Northamptonshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01604768392
About this school
Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery is a primary academy in Northampton. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 350 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
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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- 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 | 30 | 53 | 33 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 90% | 91% | 73% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 20% | 17% | 15% |
| Expected standard in reading | 93% | 96% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 97% | 91% | 85% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 83% | 87% | 79% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 109.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 109.0 | 108.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +4.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +5.20 | - | - |
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 Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery 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 | 90% | 57.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 91% | 60.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 73% | 60.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 305 |
| 2023/24 | 331 |
| 2024/25 | 329 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery compares
Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery ranked 31st of 140 primary schools in West Northamptonshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 73% | 4.3% | 38% | 350 | — |
| Hunsbury Park Primary School | — | — | — | 354 | 0.4 miles |
| Delapre Primary School | 49% | 4.8% | 20.8% | 539 | 0.5 miles |
| Queen Eleanor Primary Academy | 66% | 3.6% | 21.2% | 223 | 0.7 miles |
| The Abbey Primary School | 72% | 5.4% | 26.5% | 330 | 1.0 miles |
| Simon de Senlis Primary School | 67% | 3.5% | 11.4% | 434 | 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.
Inspection history
- 15 November 2022
-
Ungraded inspection report15 September 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 37.97%
- English as an additional language
- 66%
- Overall absence
- 4.25%
- Persistent absence
- 7.42%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hunsbury Park Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Northampton
-
Delapre Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Northampton
-
Queen Eleanor Primary Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Northampton
-
The Abbey Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Northampton
-
Simon de Senlis Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Northampton
Other schools in Northampton
Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery ranks 24th of the 99 ranked primary schools in Northampton.
- Abington Vale Primary School Primary
- All Saints CofE VA Primary School Primary
- Ashton CofE Primary School Primary
- Barry Primary School Primary
- Blackthorn Primary School Primary
- Blisworth Community Primary School Primary
- Boothville Primary School Primary
- Boughton Primary School Primary
- Bridgewater Primary School Primary
- Brington Primary School Primary
- Brixworth CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Buckton Fields Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery teach?
- Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Northampton.
- Who is the head teacher of Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery?
- The head teacher of Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery is Miss Jane Cooksley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery, 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 Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery?
- Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery has 350 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery full?
- Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery has capacity for 472 pupils and 350 on roll (74%), 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 Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery a faith school?
- No. Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery has no designated religious character.
- Does Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery?
- Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery is part of THE DAVID ROSS EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 90% in 2022/23 and 73% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery rank locally?
- Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery ranked 31st of 140 primary schools in West Northamptonshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery's absence rate?
- Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery's overall absence rate is 4.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery'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.