Willow Primary School
Alston Road, Doncaster, DN4 7EZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- EXCEED LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Mrs Davina Sumner
- Sponsor
- Exceed Learning Partnership
- Constituency
- Doncaster Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 417
- URN
- 145935
- Local authority
- Doncaster
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01302539249
About this school
Willow Primary School is a primary academy in Doncaster. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 417 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
- 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 | 54 | 58 | 58 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 70% | 71% | 79% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 11% | 17% | 17% |
| Expected standard in reading | 81% | 81% | 90% |
| Expected standard in maths | 89% | 88% | 90% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 87% | 88% | 86% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 107.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 107.0 | 109.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.20 | - | - |
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 Willow 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 | Doncaster average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 70% | 54.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 71% | 57.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 79% | 60.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 399 |
| 2023/24 | 404 |
| 2024/25 | 418 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Willow Primary School compares
Willow Primary School ranked 6th of 87 primary schools in Doncaster 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 89% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 79% | 3.7% | 10.3% | 417 | — |
| Bessacarr Primary | 75% | 3.7% | 6.1% | 462 | 0.6 miles |
| Hatchell Wood Primary Academy | 38% | 5.1% | 27.6% | 433 | 0.9 miles |
| Hawthorn Primary School | 55% | 6.3% | 44.7% | 231 | 0.9 miles |
| St Peter's Catholic Primary School | 59% | 3.6% | 14.9% | 204 | 1.3 miles |
| Lakeside Primary Academy | 51% | 6.1% | 34.4% | 379 | 1.4 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 10.29%
- English as an additional language
- 22.2%
- Overall absence
- 3.74%
- Persistent absence
- 7.08%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bessacarr Primary0.6 miles
Primary · Doncaster
-
Hatchell Wood Primary Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Doncaster
-
Hawthorn Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Doncaster
-
St Peter's Catholic Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Doncaster
-
Lakeside Primary Academy1.4 miles
Primary · Doncaster
Other schools in Doncaster
Willow Primary School ranks 7th of the 96 ranked primary schools in Doncaster.
- Adwick Primary School Primary
- Arksey Primary School Primary
- Armthorpe Shaw Wood Academy Primary
- Askern Littlemoor Infant Academy Primary
- Askern Moss Road Infant Academy Primary
- Atlas Academy Primary
- Auckley Primary Academy Primary
- Balby Central Primary Academy Primary
- Barnburgh Primary Academy Primary
- Barnby Dun Primary Academy Primary
- Bawtry Mayflower Primary School Primary
- Beckingham Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Willow Primary School teach?
- Willow Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Doncaster.
- Who is the headteacher of Willow Primary School?
- The headteacher of Willow Primary School is Mrs Davina Sumner, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Willow Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Willow 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 Willow Primary School?
- Willow Primary School has 417 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Willow Primary School full?
- Willow Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 417 on roll (99%), 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 Willow Primary School a faith school?
- No. Willow Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Willow Primary School?
- Willow Primary School is part of EXCEED LEARNING PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Willow 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 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 Willow Primary School rank locally?
- Willow Primary School ranked 6th of 87 primary schools in Doncaster 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 89% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Willow Primary School's absence rate?
- Willow Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Willow Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Willow 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.