Poplars Community Primary School
St Margaret's Road, Lowestoft, NR32 4HN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- EVOLUTION ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Ashley Cunningham
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Evolution Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Lowestoft
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 598
- Pupils on roll
- 260
- URN
- 145541
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01502565757
About this school
Poplars Community Primary School is a primary academy in Lowestoft. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 260 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
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
- 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 | 69 | 52 | 47 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 30% | 60% | 79% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 2% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 62% | 69% | 83% |
| Expected standard in maths | 49% | 77% | 87% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 52% | 56% | 81% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 102.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 103.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -6.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -4.80 | - | - |
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 Poplars Community 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 | Suffolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 30% | 54.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 60% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 79% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 349 |
| 2023/24 | 312 |
| 2024/25 | 277 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Poplars Community Primary School compares
Poplars Community Primary School ranked 22nd of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 94% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 79% | 3.4% | 52.7% | 260 | — |
| Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy | 67% | 5.8% | 49.7% | 311 | 0.1 miles |
| St Margaret's Primary Academy | 51% | 6.8% | 51.5% | 364 | 0.2 miles |
| Roman Hill Primary School | 33% | 7.1% | 51.9% | 375 | 0.6 miles |
| Gunton Primary Academy | 71% | 6.1% | 34% | 306 | 0.9 miles |
| Woods Loke Primary School | 75% | 3.1% | 18.9% | 483 | 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
- 21 November 2023
-
Ungraded inspection report29 June 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 52.71%
- English as an additional language
- 5.4%
- Overall absence
- 3.41%
- Persistent absence
- 4.05%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy0.1 miles
Primary · Lowestoft
-
St Margaret's Primary Academy0.2 miles
Primary · Lowestoft
-
Roman Hill Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Lowestoft
-
Gunton Primary Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Lowestoft
-
Woods Loke Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Lowestoft
Other schools in Lowestoft
Poplars Community Primary School ranks 4th of the 18 ranked primary schools in Lowestoft.
- Blundeston Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Carlton Colville Primary School Primary
- Corton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Dell Primary School Primary
- Elm Tree Primary School Primary
- Grove Primary School Primary
- Gunton Primary Academy Primary
- Kessingland Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy Primary
- Oulton Broad Primary School Primary
- Pakefield Primary School Primary
- Red Oak Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Poplars Community Primary School teach?
- Poplars Community Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Lowestoft.
- Who is the headteacher of Poplars Community Primary School?
- The headteacher of Poplars Community Primary School is Mr Ashley Cunningham, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Poplars Community Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Poplars Community 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 Poplars Community Primary School?
- Poplars Community Primary School has 260 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Poplars Community Primary School full?
- Poplars Community Primary School has capacity for 598 pupils and 260 on roll (43%), 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 Poplars Community Primary School a faith school?
- No. Poplars Community Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Poplars Community Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Poplars Community Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Poplars Community Primary School?
- Poplars Community Primary School is part of EVOLUTION ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Poplars Community Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 30% in 2022/23 and 79% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Poplars Community Primary School rank locally?
- Poplars Community Primary School ranked 22nd of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 94% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Poplars Community Primary School's absence rate?
- Poplars Community Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Poplars Community Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Poplars Community 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.