Waterside Primary Academy
Blackhorse Avenue, Waterside, Chesham, Chesham, HP5 1QU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- KINGS EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jacqui Blackmore
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Kings Education Trust
- Constituency
- Chesham and Amersham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 242
- Pupils on roll
- 225
- URN
- 149097
- Local authority
- Buckinghamshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01494786608
About this school
Waterside Primary Academy is a primary academy in Chesham. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 225 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
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
- 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 | 34 | 31 | 32 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 76% | 71% | 34% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 24% | 16% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 85% | 90% | 63% |
| Expected standard in maths | 91% | 84% | 41% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 85% | 87% | 53% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 107.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 110.0 | 107.0 | 97.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.90 | - | - |
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 Waterside Primary Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Buckinghamshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 76% | 59.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 71% | 61.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 34% | 63.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 200 |
| 2023/24 | 208 |
| 2024/25 | 199 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Waterside Primary Academy compares
Waterside Primary Academy ranked 138th of 142 primary schools in Buckinghamshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 34% | 7.9% | 36% | 225 | — |
| Chesham Bois Church of England School | 88% | 3.6% | 10.6% | 218 | 0.5 miles |
| Our Lady's Catholic Primary School | 78% | 2.6% | 9.9% | 212 | 0.7 miles |
| Thomas Harding Junior School | 81% | 5.6% | 24.9% | 238 | 0.7 miles |
| Elangeni School | 85% | 2.9% | 5.4% | 240 | 0.9 miles |
| Chestnut Lane School | — | 4.4% | 8.5% | 206 | 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)
- 35.98%
- English as an additional language
- 17.1%
- Overall absence
- 7.89%
- Persistent absence
- 20.5%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Chesham Bois Church of England School0.5 miles
Primary · Amersham
-
Our Lady's Catholic Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Amersham
-
Thomas Harding Junior School0.7 miles
Primary · Chesham
-
Elangeni School0.9 miles
Primary · Amersham
-
Chestnut Lane School1.0 miles
Primary · Amersham
Other schools in Chesham
Waterside Primary Academy ranks 7th of the 7 ranked primary schools in Chesham.
- Brushwood Junior School Primary
- Chartridge Combined School Primary
- Elmtree Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Hawridge and Cholesbury Church of England School Primary
- Ivingswood Academy Primary
- Ley Hill School Primary
- Newtown School Primary
- Thomas Harding Junior School Primary
- Chesham Grammar School Secondary
- Chiltern Hills Academy Secondary
- Heritage House School Special schools
- Chesham Preparatory School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Waterside Primary Academy teach?
- Waterside Primary Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Chesham.
- Who is the headteacher of Waterside Primary Academy?
- The headteacher of Waterside Primary Academy is Mrs Jacqui Blackmore, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Waterside Primary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Waterside Primary Academy, 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 Waterside Primary Academy?
- Waterside Primary Academy has 225 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Waterside Primary Academy full?
- Waterside Primary Academy has capacity for 242 pupils and 225 on roll (93%), 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 Waterside Primary Academy a faith school?
- No. Waterside Primary Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Waterside Primary Academy a selective school?
- No. Waterside Primary Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does Waterside Primary Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Waterside Primary Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Waterside Primary Academy?
- Waterside Primary Academy is part of KINGS EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Waterside Primary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 76% in 2022/23 and 34% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Waterside Primary Academy rank locally?
- Waterside Primary Academy ranked 138th of 142 primary schools in Buckinghamshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Waterside Primary Academy's absence rate?
- Waterside Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Waterside Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Waterside Primary Academy'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.