Bowerhill Primary School
Halifax Road, Melksham, SN12 6YH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE WHITE HORSE FEDERATION
- Headteacher
- Mr Christopher Light
- Sponsor
- The White Horse Federation
- Constituency
- Melksham and Devizes
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 378
- URN
- 146343
- Local authority
- Wiltshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01225700964
About this school
Bowerhill Primary School is a primary academy in Melksham. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 378 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
- Outstanding
- 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 | 61 | 60 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 64% | 67% | 65% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 10% | 12% |
| Expected standard in reading | 77% | 78% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 79% | 83% | 80% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 84% | 87% | 73% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.00 | - | - |
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 Bowerhill 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 | Wiltshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 64% | 56.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 67% | 56.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 65% | 58.2% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 406 |
| 2023/24 | 405 |
| 2024/25 | 401 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bowerhill Primary School compares
Bowerhill Primary School ranked 69th of 174 primary schools in Wiltshire 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 66% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 65% | 4.8% | 19.2% | 378 | — |
| Aloeric Primary School | 42% | 5.5% | 21.9% | 360 | 1.1 miles |
| Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School | 77% | 4.6% | 15.9% | 460 | 1.1 miles |
| The Manor CofE VC Primary School | 48% | 6.6% | 51.1% | 121 | 1.3 miles |
| River Mead School | 38% | 6.9% | 45.4% | 261 | 1.5 miles |
| St George's Church of England Primary School, Semington | 100% | 4.1% | 10.1% | 87 | 1.5 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)
- 19.2%
- English as an additional language
- 2.5%
- Overall absence
- 4.78%
- Persistent absence
- 9.83%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Aloeric Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Melksham
-
Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Melksham
-
The Manor CofE VC Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Melksham
-
River Mead School1.5 miles
Primary · Melksham
-
St George's Church of England Primary School, Semington1.5 miles
Primary · Trowbridge
Other schools in Melksham
Bowerhill Primary School ranks 4th of the 8 ranked primary schools in Melksham.
- Aloeric Primary School Primary
- Churchfields, the Village School Primary
- Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School Primary
- River Mead School Primary
- Seend Church of England Primary School Primary
- Shaw CE Primary School Primary
- St Mary's Broughton Gifford Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School Primary
- The Manor CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Melksham Oak Community School Secondary
- Melksham House School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Bowerhill Primary School teach?
- Bowerhill Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Melksham.
- Who is the headteacher of Bowerhill Primary School?
- The headteacher of Bowerhill Primary School is Mr Christopher Light, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bowerhill Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bowerhill 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 Bowerhill Primary School?
- Bowerhill Primary School has 378 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Bowerhill Primary School full?
- Bowerhill Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 378 on roll (90%), 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 Bowerhill Primary School a faith school?
- No. Bowerhill Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Bowerhill Primary School?
- Bowerhill 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 Bowerhill Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 64% 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 Bowerhill Primary School rank locally?
- Bowerhill Primary School ranked 69th of 174 primary schools in Wiltshire 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 66% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bowerhill Primary School's absence rate?
- Bowerhill Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bowerhill Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bowerhill 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.