River Mead School
Lowbourne, Melksham, SN12 7ED
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- EQUA MEAD LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Miss Louise Harrison
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Melksham and Devizes
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 261
- URN
- 139260
- Local authority
- Wiltshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01225703428
About this school
River Mead School is a primary academy in Melksham. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 261 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 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
- Outstanding
- 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 | 32 | 18 | 34 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 28% | 41% | 38% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 50% | 56% | 47% |
| Expected standard in maths | 38% | 50% | 44% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 34% | 56% | 38% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 100.0 | 105.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 99.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.60 | - | - |
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 River Mead 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 | Wiltshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 28% | 56.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 41% | 56.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 38% | 58.2% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 269 |
| 2023/24 | 247 |
| 2024/25 | 281 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How River Mead School compares
River Mead School ranked 155th of 174 primary schools in Wiltshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 38% | 6.9% | 45.4% | 261 | — |
| The Manor CofE VC Primary School | 48% | 6.6% | 51.1% | 121 | 0.3 miles |
| Aloeric Primary School | 42% | 5.5% | 21.9% | 360 | 0.7 miles |
| Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School | 77% | 4.6% | 15.9% | 460 | 0.8 miles |
| Shaw CE Primary School | 69% | 4.8% | 14.4% | 189 | 1.5 miles |
| Bowerhill Primary School | 65% | 4.8% | 19.2% | 378 | 1.5 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)
- 45.41%
- English as an additional language
- 17.1%
- Overall absence
- 6.85%
- Persistent absence
- 17.45%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Manor CofE VC Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Melksham
-
Aloeric Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Melksham
-
Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Melksham
-
Shaw CE Primary School1.5 miles
Primary · Melksham
-
Bowerhill Primary School1.5 miles
Primary · Melksham
Other schools in Melksham
River Mead School ranks 8th of the 8 ranked primary schools in Melksham.
- Aloeric Primary School Primary
- Bowerhill Primary School Primary
- Churchfields, the Village School Primary
- Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School Primary
- Seend Church of England Primary School Primary
- Shaw CE Primary School Primary
- St Mary's Broughton Gifford Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School Primary
- The Manor CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Melksham Oak Community School Secondary
- Melksham House School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does River Mead School teach?
- River Mead School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Melksham.
- Who is the headteacher of River Mead School?
- The headteacher of River Mead School is Miss Louise Harrison, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was River Mead School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected River Mead 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 River Mead School?
- River Mead School has 261 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is River Mead School full?
- River Mead School has capacity for 210 pupils and 261 on roll (124%), 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 River Mead School a faith school?
- No. River Mead School has no designated religious character.
- Does River Mead School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records River Mead School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs River Mead School?
- River Mead School is part of EQUA MEAD LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does River Mead School have?
- The schools register lists River Mead School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have River Mead School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 28% in 2022/23 and 38% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does River Mead School rank locally?
- River Mead School ranked 155th of 174 primary schools in Wiltshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is River Mead School's absence rate?
- River Mead School's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are River Mead School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, River Mead 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.