Preston Primary School
Old Paignton Road, Livermead, Torquay, TQ2 6UY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CONNECT ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Melissa Oliver
- Religious ethos
- None
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Torbay
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 331
- Pupils on roll
- 325
- URN
- 141237
- Local authority
- Torbay
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01803607075
About this school
Preston Primary School is a primary academy in Torquay. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 325 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Preston 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 19 July 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 | 45 | 49 | 47 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 56% | 63% | 60% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 6% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 84% | 78% | 79% |
| Expected standard in maths | 76% | 73% | 85% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 78% | 76% | 79% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.20 | - | - |
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 Preston 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 | Torbay average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 56% | 57% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 63% | 57.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 60% | 57.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 327 |
| 2023/24 | 330 |
| 2024/25 | 329 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Preston Primary School compares
Preston Primary School ranked 15th of 30 primary schools in Torbay for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 40% 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 | 60% | 5.2% | 14.9% | 325 | — |
| Cockington Primary School | 46% | 5.2% | 34.6% | 380 | 1.0 miles |
| Oldway Primary School | 66% | 5.4% | 19% | 598 | 1.1 miles |
| Sacred Heart Catholic School | 55% | 4.3% | 25.5% | 208 | 1.1 miles |
| Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Primary School | 50% | 5.2% | 34.3% | 145 | 1.4 miles |
| Sherwell Valley Primary School | 75% | 4.3% | 15.9% | 694 | 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)
- 14.89%
- English as an additional language
- 1.2%
- Overall absence
- 5.16%
- Persistent absence
- 12.07%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Cockington Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
Oldway Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Paignton
-
Sacred Heart Catholic School1.1 miles
Primary · Paignton
-
Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Torquay
-
Sherwell Valley Primary School1.5 miles
Primary · Torquay
Other schools in Torquay
Preston Primary School ranks 8th of the 17 ranked primary schools in Torquay.
- All Saints Babbacombe CofE Primary School Primary
- Cockington Primary School Primary
- Ellacombe Church of England Academy Primary
- Homelands Primary School Primary
- Ilsham Church of England Academy Primary
- Lift Barton Hill Primary
- Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Primary School Primary
- Priory Roman Catholic Primary School, Torquay Primary
- Sherwell Valley Primary School Primary
- Shiphay Learning Academy Primary
- St Margaret's Academy Primary
- St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Preston Primary School teach?
- Preston Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Torquay.
- Who is the headteacher of Preston Primary School?
- The headteacher of Preston Primary School is Mrs Melissa Oliver, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Preston Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Preston 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 Preston Primary School?
- Preston Primary School has 325 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Preston Primary School full?
- Preston Primary School has capacity for 331 pupils and 325 on roll (98%), 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 Preston Primary School a faith school?
- No. Preston Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Preston Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Preston Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Preston Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Preston Primary School is part of CONNECT ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Preston Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Preston Primary School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Preston Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 56% in 2022/23 and 60% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Preston Primary School compare with other schools in Torbay?
- Preston Primary School ranked 15th of 30 primary schools in Torbay for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 40% 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 Preston Primary School's absence rate?
- Preston Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Preston Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Preston 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.