Gorse Hill Primary School
Avening Street, Gorse Hill, Swindon, SN2 8BZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE WHITE HORSE FEDERATION
- Headteacher
- Mrs Candida Hutchinson
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- The White Horse Federation
- Constituency
- Swindon North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 460
- Pupils on roll
- 441
- URN
- 144500
- Local authority
- Swindon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01793523800
About this school
Gorse Hill Primary School is a primary academy in Swindon. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 441 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. 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
- 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 | 56 | 56 | 57 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 54% | 66% | 74% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 5% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 61% | 73% | 75% |
| Expected standard in maths | 71% | 82% | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 63% | 70% | 74% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 102.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.10 | - | - |
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 Gorse Hill 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 | Swindon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 54% | 55% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 66% | 57.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 74% | 57.2% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 461 |
| 2023/24 | 437 |
| 2024/25 | 444 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Gorse Hill Primary School compares
Gorse Hill Primary School ranked 10th of 54 primary schools in Swindon for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 74% | 5.1% | 17.3% | 441 | — |
| Holy Cross Catholic Primary School | 48% | 5.2% | 11.3% | 371 | 0.8 miles |
| Ferndale Primary School & Nursery | 68% | 5% | 18.3% | 413 | 0.8 miles |
| Drove Primary School | 71% | 6% | 15.2% | 706 | 0.8 miles |
| St Mary's Catholic Primary School | 70% | 5.7% | 9.3% | 398 | 0.9 miles |
| Mountford Manor Primary School | 67% | 6% | 47.7% | 204 | 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)
- 17.32%
- English as an additional language
- 71.4%
- Overall absence
- 5.09%
- Persistent absence
- 15.85%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Holy Cross Catholic Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Swindon
-
Ferndale Primary School & Nursery0.8 miles
Primary · Swindon
-
Drove Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Swindon
-
St Mary's Catholic Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Swindon
-
Mountford Manor Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Swindon
Other schools in Swindon
Gorse Hill Primary School ranks 12th of the 64 ranked primary schools in Swindon.
- Abbey Farm Educate Together Primary Primary
- Abbey Meads Community Primary School Primary
- Ashton Keynes Church of England Primary School Primary
- Badbury Park Primary School Primary
- Beechcroft Infant School Primary
- Bishopstone Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bridlewood Primary School Primary
- Broad Hinton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Broad Town Church of England Primary School Primary
- Brook Field Primary School Primary
- Catherine Wayte Primary School Primary
- Chiseldon Primary & Nursery School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Gorse Hill Primary School teach?
- Gorse Hill Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Swindon.
- Who is the headteacher of Gorse Hill Primary School?
- The headteacher of Gorse Hill Primary School is Mrs Candida Hutchinson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Gorse Hill Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Gorse Hill 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 Gorse Hill Primary School?
- Gorse Hill Primary School has 441 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Gorse Hill Primary School full?
- Gorse Hill Primary School has capacity for 460 pupils and 441 on roll (96%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Gorse Hill Primary School a faith school?
- No. Gorse Hill Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Gorse Hill Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Gorse Hill Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Gorse Hill Primary School?
- Gorse Hill Primary School is part of THE WHITE HORSE FEDERATION. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Gorse Hill Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 54% in 2022/23 and 74% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Gorse Hill Primary School rank locally?
- Gorse Hill Primary School ranked 10th of 54 primary schools in Swindon for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Gorse Hill Primary School's absence rate?
- Gorse Hill Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Gorse Hill Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Gorse Hill 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.