Birch Copse Primary School, Reading
Birch Copse Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Reading. It was rated Outstanding at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in July 2024. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 35th-highest of the 85 schools in Reading with published results, and 4,602nd of 14,452 across England. For 2026 entry it had 1.6 first-choice applications for every place. It was 99% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Outstanding (2024)
- Demand
- 1.6 first choices per place
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to West Berkshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Birch Copse Primary School in detail
Birch Copse Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "Birch Copse aims to provide a safe, respectful and supportive learning environment that enables learners to feel valued and reach their potential within a happy, healthy and caring community. All children are encouraged to enjoy learning and experience a creative and stimulating curriculum to help them become confident and independent learners."
The school runs a breakfast club from 7:45am and after-school care, from £6.00 per session.
Vision and values (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 83% of Year 6 pupils at Birch Copse Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 82% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 75% and 71% in West Berkshire and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 87% in reading and 92% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at Birch Copse Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 99 families put Birch Copse Primary School as their first choice and 181 named it as one of their preferences, for 60 places offered. That is 1.6 first choices for every place. 43 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at Birch Copse Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Birch Copse Primary School are St Paul's Catholic Primary School (0.3 miles, Good, 94% reading, 90% maths); Park Lane Primary School (0.3 miles, Good, 82% reading, 72% maths); Springfield Primary School (0.3 miles, Good, 88% reading, 81% maths); and Moorlands Primary School (1 mile, Good, 83% reading, 81% maths).
Birch Copse Primary School's 2025 results were higher than 2 of these 4 schools.
St Paul's Catholic Primary SchoolPark Lane Primary SchoolSpringfield Primary SchoolMoorlands Primary School
Who goes there
6.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 9.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (66%), Mixed (13%) and Asian (10%).
In 2026, 32 pupils (7.6%) received SEN support and 12 (2.9%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia.
Staffing
Birch Copse Primary School had 29 teachers in 2026, one for every 14 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Tilehurst Rail Station, about 1.3 miles away in a straight line.
14 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Warborough Avenue (adj 51), 200 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Birch Copse Primary School stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 111 crimes within a mile of the school, most often shoplifting, violence and sexual offences and anti-social behaviour. That is well above the typical figure around schools in West Berkshire (26), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Birch Copse Primary School issued 3 suspensions, 0.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Birch Copse Primary School are Little Heath School (0.3 miles) and Denefield School (1 mile).
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Our estimate from how close the nearest similar schools are and how oversubscribed the council's schools are. It is not a published boundary.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils are proud to be a part of their inclusive and ambitious school community. They embody the school's values consistently by being kind, respectful and polite. They meet the high expectations set for them through trying their best, challenging themselves and persevering. Pupils share the school's ambitions for what they can achieve. From Reception onwards, pupils grow to become highly motivated, confident and independent learners. Beyond this, they become highly valued members of their community. Across the school, pupils speak about the importance of showing support and encouragement to each other.
All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve highly across the curriculum. Published outcomes from the end of key stage tests in 2023 show that pupils attain above national averages. This is reflected in the high-quality work that pupils complete in school in these subjects and across the wider curriculum. Pupils talk about their learning with interest and make links between the knowledge they gain easily.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school has a highly ambitious curriculum which supports all pupils to achieve exceptionally well. The school has mapped out precisely the knowledge that pupils need to develop. This starts from Reception onwards and is designed so that pupils revisit and build on prior learning systematically and as needed. Subsequently, pupils are able to master and apply knowledge to problems independently.
Teaching is very effective. Subject leaders, teachers and support staff are experts not just in the knowledge they teach, but also in how best to teach it so that all pupils, including those with SEND, achieve extremely well over time. Teachers check what pupils know through the entire curriculum. Where needed, they make well-considered changes to lesson activities to help pupils build knowledge well. The provision for pupils with SEND is successful due to the precise knowledge of what pupils' needs are and clarity on how best to meet them. Therefore, the support put in place in lessons is seamless and highly impactful.
From Ofsted's July 2024 inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Outstanding at its July 2024 inspection.
Rated Outstanding for
Quality of education, Behaviour & attitudes, Personal development, Leadership & management, Early years.
At a Glance
6.9%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 87% to 83% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 92% to 82% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 93% to 87% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
30.0
Avg class size
29.3
Infant (KS1)
30.5
KS2
14
Total classes
4 classes with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Birch Copse Primary School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Birch Copse Primary School.
- Premier Education Camp at Birch Copse Primary SchoolAt the school · Not yet graded
- AH cricket academy - Little Heath school430m away · Not yet graded
- St Paul's Stars Breakfast and After School Club460m away · Not yet graded
- Junior Adventures Group @ Park Lane RG31510m away · Not yet graded
- Reading Tilehurst Kumon Centre880m away · Not yet graded
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Birch Copse Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Birch Copse Primary School is in West Berkshire; for families living there:
Apply to West Berkshire for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 14
- Fatal
- 1
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 14 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 0 serious and 13 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on a bicycle.
6 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in West Berkshire is 3 (the median across 99 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Birch Copse Primary School
Will you get a place at Birch Copse Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Birch Copse Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Birch Copse Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Birch Copse Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from West Berkshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Birch Copse Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in West Berkshire got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
99%
Near capacity
419 pupils
420 places
1 spare place in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Reading
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Reading
Across West Berkshire council
Places available
2,024
Applications
1,547
Got 1st preference
90.8%
Got preferred school
98.3%
All primary applications across West Berkshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: 1.6 first choices per place
Inspection History(5)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
32
SEN Support
12
EHC Plans
10.5%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
420
Total Pupils
241
Boys
179
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
29
Teachers
14.5:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£54,829
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,029
Per pupil
£2266k
Total funding
£45k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
3.3%
Overall absence
4.1%
Persistent absence
364
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Birch Copse Primary School
Questions parents ask about Birch Copse Primary School
What are SATs results like at Birch Copse Primary School?
Of the pupils at Birch Copse Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 83% reached the expected standard in reading and 82% did so in maths.
What is Birch Copse Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Birch Copse Primary School was rated Outstanding at its most recent Ofsted inspection in July 2024.
What is the catchment area for Birch Copse Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Birch Copse Primary School is oversubscribed, West Berkshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Birch Copse Primary School?
Birch Copse Primary School was full in 2025, at 100% of its capacity, so places are allocated on the oversubscription criteria.
How big are the classes at Birch Copse Primary School?
Classes at Birch Copse Primary School average 30 pupils (2025/26). 4 classes have more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Birch Copse Primary School?
Birch Copse Primary School has around 420 pupils on roll. 7% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Birch Copse Primary School?
3.3% of sessions were missed at Birch Copse Primary School in 2024/25. 4.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Birch Copse Primary School?
Apply through West Berkshire's coordinated admissions process, naming Birch Copse Primary School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does Birch Copse Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Premier Education Camp at Birch Copse Primary School (registered, not yet graded). There are 4 more within a kilometre. The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
How many road collisions happen near Birch Copse Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 14 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 0 serious and 13 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on a bicycle. 6 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in West Berkshire is 3 (the median across 99 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Birch Copse Primary School?
Birch Copse Primary School is at Wittenham Avenue, Tilehurst, Reading, Berkshire, RG31 5LN.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)