Thornbury Primary School
Miller Way, Estover, Plymouth, PL6 8UL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CONNECT ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Emma Mantell
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication
- Constituency
- Plymouth Moor View
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 315
- Pupils on roll
- 279
- URN
- 143306
- Local authority
- Plymouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01752302600
About this school
Thornbury Primary School is a primary academy in Plymouth. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 279 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Thornbury 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- 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 | 45 | 37 | 43 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 36% | 43% | 56% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 5% | 12% |
| Expected standard in reading | 58% | 59% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 40% | 57% | 63% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 42% | 51% | 67% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 100.0 | 102.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 100.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -4.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.70 | - | - |
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 Thornbury 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 | Plymouth average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 36% | 54.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 43% | 58.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 56% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 268 |
| 2023/24 | 285 |
| 2024/25 | 301 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Thornbury Primary School compares
Thornbury Primary School ranked 47th of 66 primary schools in Plymouth for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 56% | 4.9% | 15.3% | 279 | — |
| Tor Bridge Primary School | 86% | 6% | 31.8% | 211 | 0.4 miles |
| St Matthew's Church of England Primary and Nursery Academy | 54% | 4.6% | 10% | 487 | 0.6 miles |
| Leigham Primary School | 67% | 5% | 29% | 374 | 0.9 miles |
| St Edward's CofE Primary School | 71% | 3.9% | 12.3% | 210 | 1.0 miles |
| Bickleigh Down Church of England Primary School | 78% | 3.7% | 14.8% | 416 | 1.2 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)
- 15.28%
- English as an additional language
- 19.6%
- Overall absence
- 4.89%
- Persistent absence
- 13.38%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Tor Bridge Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Plymouth
-
St Matthew's Church of England Primary and Nursery Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Plymouth
-
Leigham Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Plymouth
-
St Edward's CofE Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Plymouth
-
Bickleigh Down Church of England Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Plymouth
Other schools in Plymouth
Thornbury Primary School ranks 53rd of the 72 ranked primary schools in Plymouth.
- Austin Farm Academy Primary
- Beechwood Primary Academy Primary
- Bickleigh Down Church of England Primary School Primary
- Boringdon Primary School Primary
- Chaddlewood Primary School Primary
- College Road Primary School Primary
- Compton CofE Primary School Primary
- Drake Primary Academy Primary
- Eggbuckland Vale Primary School Primary
- Elburton Primary School Primary
- Ernesettle Community School Primary
- Ford Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Thornbury Primary School teach?
- Thornbury Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Plymouth.
- Who is the headteacher of Thornbury Primary School?
- The headteacher of Thornbury Primary School is Mrs Emma Mantell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Thornbury Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Thornbury 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 Thornbury Primary School?
- Thornbury Primary School has 279 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Thornbury Primary School full?
- Thornbury Primary School has capacity for 315 pupils and 279 on roll (89%), 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 Thornbury Primary School a faith school?
- No. Thornbury Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Thornbury Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Thornbury Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Thornbury Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Thornbury 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 Thornbury Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Thornbury Primary School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Thornbury Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 36% in 2022/23 and 56% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Thornbury Primary School compare with other schools in Plymouth?
- Thornbury Primary School ranked 47th of 66 primary schools in Plymouth for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Thornbury Primary School's absence rate?
- Thornbury Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Thornbury Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Thornbury 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.