Friars Primary School and Nursery
Constable Way, Shoeburyness, Southend-on-Sea, SS3 9XX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- PORTICO ACADEMY TRUST
- Executive Headteacher
- Mr Christopher McClay
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Portico Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Southend East and Rochford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 472
- Pupils on roll
- 429
- URN
- 143334
- Local authority
- Southend-on-Sea
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01702294837
About this school
Friars Primary School and Nursery is a primary academy in Southend-on-Sea. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 429 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 11 December 2024, 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 | 60 | 59 | 56 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 55% | 51% | 66% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 5% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 68% | 64% | 80% |
| Expected standard in maths | 60% | 68% | 75% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 77% | 68% | 84% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.20 | - | - |
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 Friars Primary School and Nursery has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Southend-on-Sea average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 55% | 57.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 51% | 58.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 66% | 59.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 436 |
| 2023/24 | 434 |
| 2024/25 | 427 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Friars Primary School and Nursery compares
Friars Primary School and Nursery ranked 11th of 27 primary schools in Southend-on-Sea for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 35% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 66% | 6.2% | 43.5% | 429 | — |
| St George's Catholic Primary School | 77% | 5.1% | 14.4% | 209 | 0.4 miles |
| Hinguar Community Primary School | 76% | 5.6% | 19.5% | 261 | 0.7 miles |
| Richmond Avenue Primary and Nursery School | 60% | 6.1% | 23.6% | 393 | 0.9 miles |
| Great Wakering Primary Academy | 40% | 4.8% | 22.1% | 412 | 1.0 miles |
| Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery | 37% | 8.1% | 51.7% | 421 | 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)
- 43.5%
- English as an additional language
- 5.9%
- Overall absence
- 6.24%
- Persistent absence
- 19.23%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St George's Catholic Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Southend-on-Sea
-
Hinguar Community Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Southend-on-Sea
-
Richmond Avenue Primary and Nursery School0.9 miles
Primary · Southend-on-Sea
-
Great Wakering Primary Academy1.0 miles
Primary · Southend-on-Sea
-
Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery1.0 miles
Primary · Southend-on-Sea
Other schools in Southend-on-Sea
Friars Primary School and Nursery ranks 5th of the 15 ranked primary schools in Southend-on-Sea.
- Barling Magna Primary Academy Primary
- Bournemouth Park Academy Primary
- Bournes Green Infant School Primary
- Bournes Green Junior School Primary
- Great Wakering Primary Academy Primary
- Greenways Primary School Primary
- Hamstel Infant School and Nursery Primary
- Hamstel Junior School Primary
- Hinguar Community Primary School Primary
- Porters Grange Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Richmond Avenue Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Friars Primary School and Nursery teach?
- Friars Primary School and Nursery teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Southend-on-Sea.
- Who is the executive headteacher of Friars Primary School and Nursery?
- The executive headteacher of Friars Primary School and Nursery is Mr Christopher McClay, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Friars Primary School and Nursery last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Friars Primary School and Nursery, 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 Friars Primary School and Nursery?
- Friars Primary School and Nursery has 429 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Friars Primary School and Nursery full?
- Friars Primary School and Nursery has capacity for 472 pupils and 429 on roll (91%), 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 Friars Primary School and Nursery a faith school?
- No. Friars Primary School and Nursery has no designated religious character.
- Does Friars Primary School and Nursery have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Friars Primary School and Nursery as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Friars Primary School and Nursery?
- Friars Primary School and Nursery is part of PORTICO ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Friars Primary School and Nursery's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 55% in 2022/23 and 66% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Friars Primary School and Nursery rank locally?
- Friars Primary School and Nursery ranked 11th of 27 primary schools in Southend-on-Sea for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 35% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Friars Primary School and Nursery's absence rate?
- Friars Primary School and Nursery's overall absence rate is 6.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Friars Primary School and Nursery's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Friars Primary School and Nursery'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.