Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy
St Margaret's Road, Lowestoft, NR32 4HN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- REACH2 ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Iain Owens
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- REAch2 Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Lowestoft
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 311
- URN
- 142016
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01502563528
About this school
Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy is a primary academy in Lowestoft. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 311 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy, 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
- Outstanding
- 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 | 54 | 50 | 49 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 52% | 58% | 67% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 2% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 56% | 64% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 74% | 62% | 78% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 52% | 42% | 65% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 100.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 101.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.40 | - | - |
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 Northfield St Nicholas 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 | Suffolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 52% | 54.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 58% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 67% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 359 |
| 2023/24 | 365 |
| 2024/25 | 341 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy compares
Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy ranked 80th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 67% | 5.8% | 49.7% | 311 | — |
| St Margaret's Primary Academy | 51% | 6.8% | 51.5% | 364 | 0.1 miles |
| Poplars Community Primary School | 79% | 3.4% | 52.7% | 260 | 0.1 miles |
| Roman Hill Primary School | 33% | 7.1% | 51.9% | 375 | 0.5 miles |
| Woods Loke Primary School | 75% | 3.1% | 18.9% | 483 | 0.9 miles |
| Gunton Primary Academy | 71% | 6.1% | 34% | 306 | 1.0 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)
- 49.69%
- English as an additional language
- 12%
- Overall absence
- 5.8%
- Persistent absence
- 16.72%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Margaret's Primary Academy0.1 miles
Primary · Lowestoft
-
Poplars Community Primary School0.1 miles
Primary · Lowestoft
-
Roman Hill Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Lowestoft
-
Woods Loke Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Lowestoft
-
Gunton Primary Academy1.0 miles
Primary · Lowestoft
Other schools in Lowestoft
Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy ranks 11th of the 18 ranked primary schools in Lowestoft.
- Blundeston Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Carlton Colville Primary School Primary
- Corton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Dell Primary School Primary
- Elm Tree Primary School Primary
- Grove Primary School Primary
- Gunton Primary Academy Primary
- Kessingland Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Oulton Broad Primary School Primary
- Pakefield Primary School Primary
- Poplars Community Primary School Primary
- Red Oak Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy teach?
- Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Lowestoft.
- Who is the headteacher of Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy?
- The headteacher of Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy is Mr Iain Owens, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Northfield St Nicholas 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 many pupils are at Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy?
- Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy has 311 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy full?
- Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 311 on roll (74%), 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 Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy a faith school?
- No. Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy part of an academy trust?
- Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy is part of REACH2 ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 52% in 2022/23 and 67% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy compare with other schools in Suffolk?
- Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy ranked 80th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy's absence rate?
- Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 5.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Northfield St Nicholas 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 2 July 2026.