Bracken Leas Primary School
Magdalen Meadows, Brackley, NN13 6LF
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE HAWKSMOOR LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Paula Harwood
- Sponsor
- The Hawksmoor Learning Trust
- Constituency
- South Northamptonshire
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 420
- URN
- 144394
- Local authority
- West Northamptonshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01280707050
About this school
Bracken Leas Primary School is a primary academy in Brackley. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 420 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Bracken Leas 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
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
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
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 | 58 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 70% | 53% | 63% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 17% | 9% | 12% |
| Expected standard in reading | 80% | 78% | 80% |
| Expected standard in maths | 83% | 67% | 72% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 82% | 72% | 72% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 106.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.40 | - | - |
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 Bracken Leas 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 | West Northamptonshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 70% | 57.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 53% | 60.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 63% | 60.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 417 |
| 2023/24 | 417 |
| 2024/25 | 422 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bracken Leas Primary School compares
Bracken Leas Primary School ranked 68th of 140 primary schools in West Northamptonshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 61% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 63% | 5% | 2.6% | 420 | — |
| Brackley Church of England Junior School | 53% | 5.1% | 14.5% | 225 | 0.4 miles |
| Waynflete Infants' School | — | 5.5% | 11.1% | 140 | 0.5 miles |
| The Radstone Primary School | 58% | 4.9% | 11.3% | 415 | 0.5 miles |
| Farthinghoe Primary School | — | 5.5% | 11.1% | 16 | 3.0 miles |
| Greatworth Primary School | 78% | 4.8% | 7.7% | 86 | 3.4 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 report26 February 2025
- 3 March 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 2.61%
- English as an additional language
- 5%
- Overall absence
- 4.97%
- Persistent absence
- 8.72%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Brackley Church of England Junior School0.4 miles
Primary · Brackley
-
Waynflete Infants' School0.5 miles
Primary · Brackley
-
The Radstone Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Brackley
-
Farthinghoe Primary School3.0 miles
Primary · Brackley
-
Greatworth Primary School3.4 miles
Primary · Banbury
Other schools in Brackley
Bracken Leas Primary School ranks 3rd of the 6 ranked primary schools in Brackley.
- Brackley Church of England Junior School Primary
- Croughton All Saints CofE Primary School Primary
- Farthinghoe Primary School Primary
- Helmdon Primary School Primary
- Syresham St James CofE Primary School and Nursery Primary
- The Radstone Primary School Primary
- Waynflete Infants' School Primary
- Magdalen College School Secondary
- Beachborough School Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does Bracken Leas Primary School teach?
- Bracken Leas Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Brackley.
- Who is the headteacher of Bracken Leas Primary School?
- The headteacher of Bracken Leas Primary School is Mrs Paula Harwood, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Bracken Leas Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bracken Leas 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 Bracken Leas Primary School?
- Bracken Leas Primary School has 420 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Bracken Leas Primary School full?
- Bracken Leas Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 420 on roll (100%), so it is at or above 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 Bracken Leas Primary School a faith school?
- No. Bracken Leas Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Bracken Leas Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Bracken Leas Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Bracken Leas Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Bracken Leas Primary School is part of THE HAWKSMOOR LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Bracken Leas Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 70% in 2022/23 and 63% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bracken Leas Primary School compare with other schools in West Northamptonshire?
- Bracken Leas Primary School ranked 68th of 140 primary schools in West Northamptonshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 61% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bracken Leas Primary School's absence rate?
- Bracken Leas Primary School's overall absence rate is 5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bracken Leas Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bracken Leas 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 10 July 2026.