Watton Junior School
Brandon Road, Thetford, IP25 6AL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- CLARION CORVUS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Liam Ambrose
- Sponsor
- Clarion Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Mid Norfolk
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 300
- Pupils on roll
- 311
- URN
- 147969
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01953881387
About this school
Watton Junior School is a primary academy in Thetford. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 311 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- 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 | 55 | 53 | 68 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 20% | 17% | 31% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 1% |
| Expected standard in reading | 51% | 53% | 49% |
| Expected standard in maths | 44% | 49% | 44% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 35% | 43% | 46% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 102.0 | 100.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 100.0 | 99.0 |
| Reading progress | -5.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -7.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -6.10 | - | - |
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 Watton Junior 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 | Norfolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 20% | 49.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 17% | 49.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 31% | 52.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 261 |
| 2023/24 | 284 |
| 2024/25 | 299 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Watton Junior School compares
Watton Junior School ranked 250th of 266 primary schools in Norfolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 7% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 31% | 5.9% | 32.4% | 311 | — |
| Watton Westfield Infant and Nursery School | — | 7.1% | 24.3% | 261 | 0.2 miles |
| Parker's Church of England Primary Academy | 25% | 5.2% | 18.8% | 93 | 1.2 miles |
| St Peter and St Paul Church of England Primary Academy & Nursery | 52% | 5% | 18.3% | 234 | 2.6 miles |
| Thompson Primary School | 57% | 3.9% | 9.6% | 93 | 2.7 miles |
| Ashill Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 53% | 5% | 11% | 109 | 2.7 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)
- 32.44%
- English as an additional language
- 41.1%
- Overall absence
- 5.85%
- Persistent absence
- 14.2%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Watton Westfield Infant and Nursery School0.2 miles
Primary · Thetford
-
Parker's Church of England Primary Academy1.2 miles
Primary · Thetford
-
St Peter and St Paul Church of England Primary Academy & Nursery2.6 miles
Primary · Thetford
-
Thompson Primary School2.7 miles
Primary · Thetford
-
Ashill Voluntary Controlled Primary School2.7 miles
Primary · Thetford
Other schools in Thetford
Watton Junior School ranks 15th of the 17 ranked primary schools in Thetford.
- Admirals Academy Primary
- Ashill Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Drake Primary School Primary
- Duchy of Lancaster Methwold CofE Primary School Primary
- Edmund de Moundeford VC Primary School, Feltwell Primary
- Elveden Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Great Hockham Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Norwich Road Academy Primary
- Parker's Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Queensway Infant Academy Primary
- Queensway Junior Academy Primary
- Raleigh Infant Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Watton Junior School teach?
- Watton Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Thetford.
- Who is the headteacher of Watton Junior School?
- The headteacher of Watton Junior School is Mr Liam Ambrose, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Watton Junior School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Watton Junior 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 Watton Junior School?
- Watton Junior School has 311 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is Watton Junior School full?
- Watton Junior School has capacity for 300 pupils and 311 on roll (104%), 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 Watton Junior School a faith school?
- No. Watton Junior School has no designated religious character.
- Does Watton Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Watton Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Watton Junior School?
- Watton Junior School is part of CLARION CORVUS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Watton Junior School have?
- The schools register lists Watton Junior School's special educational needs provision as: SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Watton Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 20% in 2022/23 and 31% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Watton Junior School rank locally?
- Watton Junior School ranked 250th of 266 primary schools in Norfolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 7% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Watton Junior School's absence rate?
- Watton Junior School's overall absence rate is 5.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Watton Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Watton Junior 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.