Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy
Rowley Drive, Newmarket, CB8 0PU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- UNITY SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lisa Tweed
- Sponsor
- Unity Schools Partnership
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication
- Constituency
- West Suffolk
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 332
- URN
- 143861
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Telephone
- 01638663214
About this school
Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy is a primary academy in Newmarket. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 332 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy, 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found the school has improved significantly.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 49 | 58 | 55 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% | 79% | 65% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 8% | 9% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% | 79% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 73% | 84% | 71% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 65% | 66% | 62% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +4.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.80 | - | - |
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 Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Suffolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 67% | 54.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 79% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 65% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 337 |
| 2023/24 | 354 |
| 2024/25 | 336 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy compares
Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy ranked 86th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk 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 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 65% | 4.6% | 28.6% | 332 | — |
| Paddocks Primary School | 71% | 3.8% | 17.8% | 179 | 0.5 miles |
| St Louis Catholic Academy | 64% | 3.9% | 15.8% | 300 | 0.6 miles |
| All Saints Church of England Primary School, Newmarket | 48% | 6% | 22.9% | 177 | 0.6 miles |
| Ditton Lodge Primary School | 96% | 3.5% | 10.6% | 204 | 0.8 miles |
| Laureate Community Academy | 64% | 4.6% | 17.8% | 239 | 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.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report22 January 2025
- 6 November 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 28.57%
- English as an additional language
- 26.2%
- Overall absence
- 4.64%
- Persistent absence
- 10.9%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Paddocks Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Newmarket
-
St Louis Catholic Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Newmarket
-
All Saints Church of England Primary School, Newmarket0.6 miles
Primary · Newmarket
-
Ditton Lodge Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Newmarket
-
Laureate Community Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Newmarket
Other schools in Newmarket
Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy ranks 7th of the 12 ranked primary schools in Newmarket.
- All Saints Church of England Primary School, Newmarket Primary
- Burrough Green CofE Primary Academy Primary
- Cheveley CofE Primary School Primary
- Ditton Lodge Primary School Primary
- Exning Primary School Primary
- Kennett Primary School Primary
- Kettlefields Primary School Primary
- Laureate Community Academy Primary
- Moulton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Paddocks Primary School Primary
- St Louis Catholic Academy Primary
- Wickhambrook Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy teach?
- Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Newmarket.
- Who is the headteacher of Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy?
- The headteacher of Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy is Mrs Lisa Tweed, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy, 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 Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy?
- Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy has 332 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy full?
- Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 332 on roll (79%), 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 Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy a faith school?
- No. Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Is Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy part of an academy trust?
- Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy is part of UNITY SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy have?
- The schools register lists Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy'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 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 Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy compare with other schools in Suffolk?
- Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy ranked 86th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk 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 69% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy's absence rate?
- Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy'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.