Southwold Primary School
Holm Way, Bicester, OX26 3UU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE WHITE HORSE FEDERATION
- Principal
- Mrs Emily Holloway
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- The White Horse Federation
- SEN provision
- SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Bicester and Woodstock
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 315
- URN
- 142728
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01869324061
About this school
Southwold Primary School is a primary academy in Bicester. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 315 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Southwold 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 26 March 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 37 | 40 | 40 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 73% | 63% | 60% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 10% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 78% | 68% | 70% |
| Expected standard in maths | 76% | 65% | 75% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 76% | 65% | 65% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.90 | - | - |
| 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 Southwold 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 | Oxfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 73% | 58.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 63% | 59.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 60% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 343 |
| 2023/24 | 350 |
| 2024/25 | 324 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Southwold Primary School compares
Southwold Primary School ranked 133rd of 228 primary schools in Oxfordshire 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 47% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 60% | 5.5% | 14.9% | 315 | — |
| Bure Park Primary School | 69% | 5.2% | 10.2% | 402 | 0.3 miles |
| Glory Farm Primary School | 55% | 5.3% | 19.3% | 331 | 0.4 miles |
| Gagle Brook Primary School | 47% | 7.3% | 24% | 183 | 0.7 miles |
| Brookside Primary School | 58% | 5.1% | 25.7% | 306 | 0.8 miles |
| Longfields Primary and Nursery School | 47% | 4.9% | 20.9% | 354 | 0.8 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)
- 14.93%
- English as an additional language
- 28.7%
- Overall absence
- 5.52%
- Persistent absence
- 11.72%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bure Park Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Bicester
-
Glory Farm Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Bicester
-
Gagle Brook Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Bicester
-
Brookside Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Bicester
-
Longfields Primary and Nursery School0.8 miles
Primary · Bicester
Other schools in Bicester
Southwold Primary School ranks 10th of the 17 ranked primary schools in Bicester.
- Brookside Primary School Primary
- Bure Park Primary School Primary
- Chesterton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Dr Radcliffe's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Five Acres Primary School Primary
- Fringford Church of England Primary School Primary
- Fritwell Church of England Primary School Primary
- Gagle Brook Primary School Primary
- Glory Farm Primary School Primary
- King's Meadow Primary School Primary
- Langford Village Community Primary School Primary
- Launton Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Southwold Primary School teach?
- Southwold Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Bicester.
- Who is the principal of Southwold Primary School?
- The principal of Southwold Primary School is Mrs Emily Holloway, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Southwold Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Southwold 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 Southwold Primary School?
- Southwold Primary School has 315 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Southwold Primary School full?
- Southwold Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 315 on roll (75%), 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 Southwold Primary School a faith school?
- No. Southwold Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Southwold Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Southwold Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is Southwold Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Southwold Primary School is part of THE WHITE HORSE FEDERATION. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Southwold Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Southwold Primary School's special educational needs provision as: SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Southwold Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 73% 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 Southwold Primary School compare with other schools in Oxfordshire?
- Southwold Primary School ranked 133rd of 228 primary schools in Oxfordshire 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 47% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Southwold Primary School's absence rate?
- Southwold Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Southwold Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Southwold 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 2 July 2026.