Willowdown Primary School
Kings Drive, Bridgwater, TA6 4FU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- FUTURA LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Mrs Katie Sharp
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Futura Learning Partnership
- Constituency
- Bridgwater
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 361
- URN
- 140220
- Local authority
- Somerset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01278558758
About this school
Willowdown Primary School is a primary academy in Bridgwater. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 361 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 28 | 31 | 32 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 39% | 58% | 66% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 3% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 54% | 74% | 69% |
| Expected standard in maths | 57% | 61% | 78% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 57% | 61% | 69% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 102.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| 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 Willowdown 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 | Somerset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 39% | 54.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 58% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 66% | 57.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 306 |
| 2023/24 | 307 |
| 2024/25 | 342 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Willowdown Primary School compares
Willowdown Primary School ranked 58th of 155 primary schools in Somerset for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 66% | 7% | 26.6% | 361 | — |
| Eastover Primary School | 67% | 6.8% | 28% | 403 | 1.0 miles |
| St John and St Francis Church School | 56% | 4.3% | 22.8% | 421 | 1.3 miles |
| Northgate Primary School | 79% | 4.7% | 37.7% | 258 | 1.4 miles |
| Kingsmoor Primary School | 72% | 4.8% | 15.6% | 178 | 1.7 miles |
| Puriton Primary School | 79% | 4.9% | 10.1% | 200 | 1.7 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
-
Graded inspection report6 January 2026
- 4 May 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 26.55%
- English as an additional language
- 31%
- Overall absence
- 6.96%
- Persistent absence
- 21.2%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Eastover Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Bridgwater
-
St John and St Francis Church School1.3 miles
Primary · Bridgwater
-
Northgate Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Bridgwater
-
Kingsmoor Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Bridgwater
-
Puriton Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Bridgwater
Other schools in Bridgwater
Willowdown Primary School ranks 10th of the 26 ranked primary schools in Bridgwater.
- Ashcott Primary School Primary
- Cannington Church of England Primary School Primary
- Catcott Primary School Primary
- Eastover Primary School Primary
- Enmore Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hamp Academy Primary
- Hamp Nursery and Infants' School Primary
- Kingsmoor Primary School Primary
- Middlezoy Primary School Primary
- Nether Stowey Church of England Primary School Primary
- North Newton Community Primary School Primary
- North Petherton Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Willowdown Primary School teach?
- Willowdown Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Bridgwater.
- Who is the headteacher of Willowdown Primary School?
- The headteacher of Willowdown Primary School is Mrs Katie Sharp, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Willowdown Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Willowdown 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 big is Willowdown Primary School?
- Willowdown Primary School has 361 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Willowdown Primary School full?
- Willowdown Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 361 on roll (86%), 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 Willowdown Primary School a faith school?
- No. Willowdown Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Is Willowdown Primary School a selective school?
- No. Willowdown Primary School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does Willowdown Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Willowdown Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Willowdown Primary School?
- Willowdown Primary School is part of FUTURA LEARNING PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Willowdown 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 66% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Willowdown Primary School rank locally?
- Willowdown Primary School ranked 58th of 155 primary schools in Somerset for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Willowdown Primary School's absence rate?
- Willowdown Primary School's overall absence rate is 7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Willowdown Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Willowdown 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.