Hightown Primary School
Tunstall Road, Thornhill, Southampton, SO19 6AA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- INSPIRE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Acting Headteacher
- Mr James Williamson
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Inspire Learning Partnership
- Constituency
- Southampton Itchen
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 240
- Pupils on roll
- 229
- URN
- 139947
- Local authority
- Southampton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02380403536
About this school
Hightown Primary School is a primary academy in Southampton. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 229 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Hightown 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
- Good
- 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 | 31 | 21 | 28 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 39% | 19% | 21% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 5% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 65% | 48% | 43% |
| Expected standard in maths | 52% | 33% | 21% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 52% | 38% | 25% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 100.0 | 99.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 96.0 | 94.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.10 | - | - |
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 Hightown 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 | Southampton average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 39% | 55.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 19% | 51.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 21% | 53.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 180 |
| 2023/24 | 178 |
| 2024/25 | 226 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Hightown Primary School compares
Hightown Primary School ranked 43rd of 45 primary schools in Southampton for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 5% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 21% | 8% | 70.6% | 229 | — |
| Kanes Hill Primary School | 67% | 6.4% | 52.7% | 373 | 0.6 miles |
| Valentine Primary School & Nursery | 41% | 7.5% | 48% | 453 | 0.8 miles |
| Thornhill Primary School | 21% | 8.1% | 68% | 318 | 0.8 miles |
| St Monica Primary School | 47% | 4.9% | 35.8% | 331 | 1.3 miles |
| Bursledon Junior School(CA) | 57% | 6% | 27.8% | 304 | 1.3 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)
- 70.56%
- English as an additional language
- 17.7%
- Overall absence
- 7.96%
- Persistent absence
- 22.86%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Kanes Hill Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Southampton
-
Valentine Primary School & Nursery0.8 miles
Primary · Southampton
-
Thornhill Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Southampton
-
St Monica Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Southampton
-
Bursledon Junior School(CA)1.3 miles
Primary · Southampton
Other schools in Southampton
Hightown Primary School ranks 77th of the 79 ranked primary schools in Southampton.
- Abbotswood Junior School Primary
- Banister Primary School Primary
- Bartley Church of England Junior School Primary
- Bassett Green Primary School Primary
- Beechwood Junior School Primary
- Berrywood Primary School Primary
- Bevois Town Primary School Primary
- Bishop's Waltham Junior School Primary
- Bishops Waltham Infant School Primary
- Bitterne Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bitterne Manor Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Bitterne Park Primary & Nursery School - Part of the Learning Federation Partnership of Schools Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Hightown Primary School teach?
- Hightown Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Southampton.
- Who is the acting headteacher of Hightown Primary School?
- The acting headteacher of Hightown Primary School is Mr James Williamson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Hightown Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Hightown 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 Hightown Primary School?
- Hightown Primary School has 229 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Hightown Primary School full?
- Hightown Primary School has capacity for 240 pupils and 229 on roll (95%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Hightown Primary School a faith school?
- No. Hightown Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Hightown Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Hightown Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is Hightown Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Hightown Primary School is part of INSPIRE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Hightown Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 39% in 2022/23 and 21% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Hightown Primary School compare with other schools in Southampton?
- Hightown Primary School ranked 43rd of 45 primary schools in Southampton for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 5% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Hightown Primary School's absence rate?
- Hightown Primary School's overall absence rate is 8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Hightown Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Hightown 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.