Old Buckenham Primary School
Abbey Road, Old Buckenham, Attleborough, NR17 1RH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SAPIENTIA EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Helen Mitchell
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Sapientia Education Trust
- Constituency
- Mid Norfolk
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 184
- URN
- 143135
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Telephone
- 01953860380
About this school
Old Buckenham Primary School is a primary academy in Attleborough. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 184 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Old Buckenham 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 16 May 2024, 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 | 27 | 27 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 52% | 56% | 65% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 4% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 70% | 81% | 77% |
| Expected standard in maths | 63% | 67% | 71% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 56% | 70% | 74% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 105.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 103.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.00 | - | - |
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 Old Buckenham 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 | Norfolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 52% | 49.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 56% | 49.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 65% | 52.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 205 |
| 2023/24 | 194 |
| 2024/25 | 196 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Old Buckenham Primary School compares
Old Buckenham Primary School ranked 84th of 266 primary schools in Norfolk 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 66% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 65% | 4.8% | 16.8% | 184 | — |
| Banham Primary School | 53% | 3.9% | 9.2% | 95 | 2.4 miles |
| Rosecroft Primary School | — | — | — | 457 | 2.4 miles |
| Attleborough Primary School | — | — | — | 365 | 2.4 miles |
| Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | 13% | 7.5% | 16.4% | 59 | 3.1 miles |
| Bunwell Primary School | 25% | 5.8% | 18.4% | 73 | 3.7 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 16.84%
- English as an additional language
- 3.1%
- Overall absence
- 4.79%
- Persistent absence
- 11.89%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Banham Primary School2.4 miles
Primary · Norwich
-
Rosecroft Primary School2.4 miles
Primary · Attleborough
-
Attleborough Primary School2.4 miles
Primary · Attleborough
-
Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School3.1 miles
Primary · Norwich
-
Bunwell Primary School3.7 miles
Primary · Norwich
Other schools in Attleborough
- Attleborough Primary School Primary
- Caston Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Great Ellingham Primary School Primary
- Rocklands Community Primary School Primary
- Rosecroft Primary School Primary
- Attleborough Academy Secondary
- Old Buckenham High School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Old Buckenham Primary School teach?
- Old Buckenham Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Attleborough.
- Who is the headteacher of Old Buckenham Primary School?
- The headteacher of Old Buckenham Primary School is Mrs Helen Mitchell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Old Buckenham Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Old Buckenham 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 Old Buckenham Primary School?
- Old Buckenham Primary School has 184 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Old Buckenham Primary School full?
- Old Buckenham Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 184 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 Old Buckenham Primary School a faith school?
- No. Old Buckenham Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Old Buckenham Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Old Buckenham Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is Old Buckenham Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Old Buckenham Primary School is part of SAPIENTIA EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Old Buckenham Primary School'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 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 Old Buckenham Primary School compare with other schools in Norfolk?
- Old Buckenham Primary School ranked 84th of 266 primary schools in Norfolk 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 66% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Old Buckenham Primary School's absence rate?
- Old Buckenham Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Old Buckenham Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Old Buckenham 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.