Gillingham Primary School
School Road, Gillingham, SP8 4QR
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- PICKWICK ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Susan Preston
- Sponsor
- Pickwick Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- North Dorset
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 233
- URN
- 149413
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01747823245
About this school
Gillingham Primary School is a primary academy in Gillingham. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 233 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Gillingham Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Needs attention
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 61 | 32 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 39% | 50% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 57% | 66% |
| Expected standard in maths | 51% | 53% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 56% | 72% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 102.0 |
Trends over time
How Gillingham 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 | Dorset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 53.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 39% | 53.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 50% | 54.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 269 |
| 2023/24 | 270 |
| 2024/25 | 234 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Gillingham Primary School compares
Gillingham Primary School ranked 57th of 89 primary schools in Dorset for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50% | 5.4% | 24.8% | 233 | — |
| Wyke Primary School | 71% | 4.8% | 19.3% | 161 | 0.7 miles |
| St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School | 59% | 4.3% | 17.9% | 242 | 0.8 miles |
| Milton-on-Stour Church of England Primary School | 39% | 4.6% | 9.8% | 119 | 1.4 miles |
| Motcombe CofE Primary School | 68% | 3.9% | 11.7% | 146 | 2.5 miles |
| Stower Provost Community School | 40% | 4.4% | 15.9% | 92 | 3.1 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)
- 24.79%
- English as an additional language
- 12%
- Overall absence
- 5.44%
- Persistent absence
- 9.09%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Wyke Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Gillingham
-
St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Gillingham
-
Milton-on-Stour Church of England Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Gillingham
-
Motcombe CofE Primary School2.5 miles
Primary · Shaftesbury
-
Stower Provost Community School3.1 miles
Primary · Gillingham
Other schools in Gillingham
Gillingham Primary School ranks 4th of the 6 ranked primary schools in Gillingham.
- Milton-on-Stour Church of England Primary School Primary
- St George's Church of England School, Bourton Primary
- St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School Primary
- Stower Provost Community School Primary
- Wyke Primary School Primary
- Gillingham School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Gillingham Primary School teach?
- Gillingham Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Gillingham.
- Who is the headteacher of Gillingham Primary School?
- The headteacher of Gillingham Primary School is Mrs Susan Preston, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Gillingham Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Gillingham 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 many pupils are at Gillingham Primary School?
- Gillingham Primary School has 233 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Gillingham Primary School full?
- Gillingham Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 233 on roll (55%), 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 Gillingham Primary School a faith school?
- No. Gillingham Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Gillingham Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Gillingham Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Gillingham Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Gillingham Primary School is part of PICKWICK ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Gillingham Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Gillingham Primary School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Gillingham Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 39% in 2023/24 and 50% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Gillingham Primary School compare with other schools in Dorset?
- Gillingham Primary School ranked 57th of 89 primary schools in Dorset for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Gillingham Primary School's absence rate?
- Gillingham Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Gillingham Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Gillingham 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 3 July 2026.