John Donne Primary School
Woods Road, London, SE15 2SW
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- NEXUS EDUCATION SCHOOLS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Miss Jo Rooney
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Nexus Education Schools Trust
- Constituency
- Peckham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 460
- Pupils on roll
- 405
- URN
- 140507
- Local authority
- Southwark
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02076390594
About this school
John Donne Primary School is a primary academy in London. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 405 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
- 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 | 55 | 47 | 51 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% | 66% | 65% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 6% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 82% | 74% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 75% | 79% | 76% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 75% | 81% | 69% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 105.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.10 | - | - |
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 John Donne 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 | Southwark average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 67% | 65.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 66% | 63.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 65% | 65.5% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 406 |
| 2023/24 | 395 |
| 2024/25 | 399 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How John Donne Primary School compares
John Donne Primary School ranked 45th of 63 primary schools in Southwark for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 65% | 5.1% | 54.5% | 405 | — |
| Harris Primary Academy Peckham Park | 76% | 5.3% | 58.2% | 242 | 0.3 miles |
| Kender Primary School | 68% | 7% | 48.1% | 351 | 0.5 miles |
| St James the Great Roman Catholic Primary School | 75% | 3.5% | 42.7% | 228 | 0.5 miles |
| Bird In Bush School | 67% | 4% | 58.3% | 381 | 0.5 miles |
| Hollydale Primary School | 59% | 6.3% | 44.2% | 155 | 0.5 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)
- 54.45%
- English as an additional language
- 45.4%
- Overall absence
- 5.13%
- Persistent absence
- 12.65%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Harris Primary Academy Peckham Park0.3 miles
Primary · London
-
Kender Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · London
-
St James the Great Roman Catholic Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · London
-
Bird In Bush School0.5 miles
Primary · Peckham
-
Hollydale Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · London
Other schools in London
John Donne Primary School ranks 691st of the 948 ranked primary schools in London.
- Abacus Belsize Primary School Primary
- Acton Gardens Primary School Primary
- Adamsrill Primary School Primary
- Addison Primary School Primary
- Ainslie Wood Primary School Primary
- Akiva School Primary
- Albemarle Primary School Primary
- Albion Primary School Primary
- Alderbrook Primary School Primary
- Aldersbrook Primary School Primary
- Alderwood Primary School Primary
- Alexander McLeod Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does John Donne Primary School teach?
- John Donne Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of John Donne Primary School?
- The headteacher of John Donne Primary School is Miss Jo Rooney, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was John Donne Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected John Donne 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 John Donne Primary School?
- John Donne Primary School has 405 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is John Donne Primary School full?
- John Donne Primary School has capacity for 460 pupils and 405 on roll (88%), 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 John Donne Primary School a faith school?
- No. John Donne Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does John Donne Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records John Donne Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs John Donne Primary School?
- John Donne Primary School is part of NEXUS EDUCATION SCHOOLS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have John Donne Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 67% in 2022/23 and 65% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does John Donne Primary School rank locally?
- John Donne Primary School ranked 45th of 63 primary schools in Southwark for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is John Donne Primary School's absence rate?
- John Donne Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are John Donne Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, John Donne 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.