Bowhill Primary School
Buddle Lane, St Thomas, Exeter, EX4 1JT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- EXETER LEARNING ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Anna Lopez
- Constituency
- Exeter
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 525
- Pupils on roll
- 451
- URN
- 143193
- Local authority
- Devon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01392206585
About this school
Bowhill Primary School is a primary academy in Exeter. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 451 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 14 May 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 | 66 | 62 | 71 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% | 44% | 55% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 5% | 1% |
| Expected standard in reading | 76% | 71% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 76% | 50% | 72% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 79% | 65% | 75% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 105.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 100.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.80 | - | - |
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 Bowhill 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 | Devon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 67% | 55% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 44% | 54.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 55% | 57.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 494 |
| 2023/24 | 490 |
| 2024/25 | 464 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bowhill Primary School compares
Bowhill Primary School ranked 181st of 269 primary schools in Devon for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55% | 5.7% | 15.5% | 451 | — |
| Montgomery Primary School | 56% | 6% | 31.8% | 437 | 0.3 miles |
| St Thomas Primary School | 43% | 4.4% | 23.8% | 193 | 0.4 miles |
| St Gabriel's CofE Primary School | 75% | 7.2% | 53.7% | 175 | 0.4 miles |
| St David's CofE Primary School | 60% | 4.9% | 21.9% | 91 | 0.8 miles |
| Ide Primary School | 60% | 4.2% | 9.2% | 143 | 0.9 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)
- 15.52%
- English as an additional language
- 15.7%
- Overall absence
- 5.71%
- Persistent absence
- 13.7%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Montgomery Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Exeter
-
St Thomas Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Exeter
-
St Gabriel's CofE Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Exeter
-
St David's CofE Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Exeter
-
Ide Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Exeter
Other schools in Exeter
Bowhill Primary School ranks 40th of the 48 ranked primary schools in Exeter.
- Alphington Primary School Primary
- Brampford Speke Church of England Primary School Primary
- Broadclyst Community Primary School Primary
- Cheriton Bishop Community Primary School Primary
- Christow Primary School Primary
- Clyst Heath Nursery and Community Primary School Primary
- Clyst St Mary Primary School Primary
- Cockwood Primary School Primary
- Countess Wear Primary School Primary
- Doddiscombsleigh Primary School Primary
- Dunsford Community Academy Primary
- Exminster Community Primary Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Bowhill Primary School teach?
- Bowhill Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Exeter.
- Who is the headteacher of Bowhill Primary School?
- The headteacher of Bowhill Primary School is Mrs Anna Lopez, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bowhill Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bowhill 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 Bowhill Primary School?
- Bowhill Primary School has 451 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is Bowhill Primary School full?
- Bowhill Primary School has capacity for 525 pupils and 451 on roll (86%), 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 Bowhill Primary School a faith school?
- No. Bowhill Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Bowhill Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Bowhill Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Bowhill Primary School?
- Bowhill Primary School is part of EXETER LEARNING ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Bowhill 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 55% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bowhill Primary School rank locally?
- Bowhill Primary School ranked 181st of 269 primary schools in Devon for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bowhill Primary School's absence rate?
- Bowhill Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bowhill Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bowhill 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.