The Orchards Primary Academy
Rhayader Road, Northfield, Birmingham, B31 1TX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- GREENHEART LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Mrs Beverley Walker-Gordon
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Greenheart Learning Partnership
- Constituency
- Birmingham Edgbaston
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 236
- Pupils on roll
- 190
- URN
- 139860
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01214644302
About this school
The Orchards Primary Academy is a primary academy in Birmingham. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 190 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's most recent visit was a short inspection on 9 October 2024, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
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 | 31 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | 42% | 71% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 6% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 66% | 65% | 74% |
| Expected standard in maths | 72% | 55% | 74% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 69% | 71% | 81% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 102.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 100.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.20 | - | - |
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 The Orchards Primary Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Birmingham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 63% | 55.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 42% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 71% | 60.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 226 |
| 2023/24 | 199 |
| 2024/25 | 191 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Orchards Primary Academy compares
The Orchards Primary Academy ranked 87th of 266 primary schools in Birmingham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 71% | 6.8% | 59.7% | 190 | — |
| Bellfield Infant School (NC) | — | 5.9% | 51.8% | 167 | 0.5 miles |
| Bellfield Junior School | 57% | 6.1% | 60.5% | 229 | 0.5 miles |
| Merritts Brook Primary E-ACT Academy | 68% | 4.5% | 70.3% | 225 | 0.5 miles |
| St Brigid's Catholic Primary School | 73% | 5.4% | 36.7% | 449 | 0.6 miles |
| Green Meadow Primary School | 68% | 6.6% | 43.4% | 408 | 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)
- 59.69%
- English as an additional language
- 31.4%
- Overall absence
- 6.77%
- Persistent absence
- 24.87%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bellfield Infant School (NC)0.5 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
Bellfield Junior School0.5 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
Merritts Brook Primary E-ACT Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
St Brigid's Catholic Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
Green Meadow Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Birmingham
Other schools in Birmingham
The Orchards Primary Academy ranks 86th of the 273 ranked primary schools in Birmingham.
- Abbey Catholic Primary School Primary
- Acocks Green Primary School Primary
- Adderley Primary School Primary
- Al-Furqan Primary School Primary
- Albert Bradbeer Primary Academy Primary
- Allens Croft Primary School Primary
- Alston Primary School Primary
- Anderton Park Primary School Primary
- Anglesey Primary School Primary
- Arden Primary School Primary
- Ark Tindal Primary Academy Primary
- Aston Tower Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Orchards Primary Academy teach?
- The Orchards Primary Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Birmingham.
- Who is the headteacher of The Orchards Primary Academy?
- The headteacher of The Orchards Primary Academy is Mrs Beverley Walker-Gordon, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Orchards Primary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Orchards Primary Academy, 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 The Orchards Primary Academy?
- The Orchards Primary Academy has 190 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is The Orchards Primary Academy full?
- The Orchards Primary Academy has capacity for 236 pupils and 190 on roll (81%), 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 The Orchards Primary Academy a faith school?
- No. The Orchards Primary Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does The Orchards Primary Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records The Orchards Primary Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs The Orchards Primary Academy?
- The Orchards Primary Academy is part of GREENHEART LEARNING PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Orchards Primary Academy'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 71% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Orchards Primary Academy rank locally?
- The Orchards Primary Academy ranked 87th of 266 primary schools in Birmingham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Orchards Primary Academy's absence rate?
- The Orchards Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 6.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Orchards Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Orchards Primary Academy'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.