Firside Junior School, Norwich
Firside Junior School is a primary school for pupils aged 7 to 11 in Norwich, part of The Wensum Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in June 2015. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in March 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 14th-highest of the 102 schools in Norwich with published results, and 3,694th of 14,452 across England. It was 96% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2015)
- Capacity
- 96% full
- Attendance
- In line with England
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Firside Junior School in detail
Firside Junior School in its own words
In its own words: "Firside Junior School offers a stimulating environment for learning, where your child can thrive and do well. We believe that every child deserves the best education possible and we aim to provide just that. We set out to give your child a sense of purpose, encourage their confidence and to enjoy learning."
The school runs a breakfast club from 7:45am and after-school care, from £3.40 per day.
Vision and values (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 80% of Year 6 pupils at Firside Junior School reached the expected standard in reading and 89% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 73% and 70% in Norfolk and 77% and 75% across England.
Results were similar in 2024 (87% in reading, 83% in maths).
Getting a place at Firside Junior School
Across Norfolk, 94% of families were offered their first-choice primary school for 2026 entry, and 99% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2026, families in Norfolk lodged 64 appeals against primary school offers; 51 reached a hearing and 5 succeeded (9.8% of those heard).
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Firside Junior School are Heather Avenue Infant School (0.5 miles, Outstanding); Arden Grove Infant and Nursery School (0.6 miles, Outstanding); Kinsale Junior School (0.6 miles, Good, 74% reading, 73% maths); and Kinsale Infant School (0.6 miles).
Heather Avenue Infant SchoolArden Grove Infant and Nursery SchoolKinsale Junior SchoolKinsale Infant School
The trust
Firside Junior School is one of 12 schools run by The Wensum Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's primary schools, 62% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.
What parents say
79 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Firside Junior School (as of September 2025): 62% would recommend the school, 84% say their child is happy there and 47% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child is happy at the school (84%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (47%).
Who goes there
14.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 10.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (84%) and Mixed (6%).
Firside Junior School has a resourced provision for speech, language and communication needs, autism and social, emotional and mental health needs: 10 places, 17 pupils on roll.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Norwich Rail Station, about 3.2 miles away in a straight line.
7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Dennis Road (adjacent), 120 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 55 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage and arson. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Norfolk (28), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Firside Junior School issued 1 suspension, 0.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; 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 agoThis judgement is from June 2015, 11 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: Standards have been maintained.
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's March 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Firside Junior School inspires a real love of learning through engaging lessons, visits to theatres and galleries, and collaborations with artists and musicians. Pupils develop strong leadership skills and a sense of responsibility through roles like emotion coaching leaders and school councillors. The school excels at supporting all learners, including those with additional needs, enabling most pupils to achieve well.
Key Strengths
- High-quality teaching of reading ensures all pupils develop fluency and confidence
- Ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum that excites pupils and inspires them to learn more
- Excellent support for pupils with SEND, tailored to individual needs
- Strong community spirit with pupils engaged in fundraising and care home visits
- Extensive range of clubs including martial arts, athletics, tag rugby, and mad science that many pupils attend
Areas for Improvement
- Quality of pupils' writing in subjects other than English is not as high as in English lessons - pupils do not receive consistent support with spelling, punctuation and grammar across all subjects
- Need to apply the same high expectations of written accuracy consistently across the whole curriculum
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective and the school has created an open and positive culture that puts pupils' interests first.
Extracurricular Activities
Martial arts, dodgeball, athletics, tag rugby, mad science clubs, Rock Notes choir, band lessons, theatre visits, county shows, art gallery visits, historical site visits, community kindness award program, care home visits, fundraising activities
Firside Junior School has maintained the good standards from its previous inspection. Pupils enjoy coming to school, attend regularly, and achieve well through an ambitious curriculum that excites and engages learners.
At a Glance
14.1%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
Resourced provision: Speech and language, Autism, SEMH
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
79 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 87% to 80% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 83% to 89% (2024 to 2025). Writing has remained stable at around 74% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
27.0
Avg class size
27.0
KS2
8
Total classes
1 class with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from Firside Junior School
Year 6 leavers entertain with reality-TV spoof
26 Aug 2026
A hundred pupils spread joy at care home
1 Jul 2026
Firside Choir’s West End trip
4 Jun 2026
Firside teacher raises more than £1,700 at London Marathon
11 May 2026
Firside pupils shine in spring panto
16 Apr 2026
'Word' book day 2026
5 Mar 2026
From Firside Junior School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Social & online
Keep up with Firside Junior School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Firside Junior School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Firside Junior School is in Norfolk; for families living there:
Apply to Norfolk for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 20
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 4
- Children hurt
- 2
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 20 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 16 slight.
2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
7 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 Norfolk is 4 (the median across 462 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
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
96%
Near capacity
347 pupils
360 places
13 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Norwich
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Norwich
Across Norfolk council
Places available
9,547
Applications
7,482
Got 1st preference
94.4%
Got preferred school
98.7%
All primary applications across Norfolk council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
41
SEN Support
17
EHC Plans
17.7%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Firside Junior School has a resourced provision for speech, language and communication needs, autism and social, emotional and mental health needs: 10 places, 17 pupils on roll.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
327
Total Pupils
158
Boys
169
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
18
Teachers
18.2:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£48,795
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£4,955
Per pupil
£1870k
Total funding
£82k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
5.1%
Overall absence
10.9%
Persistent absence
357
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
Firside Junior School
Questions parents ask about Firside Junior School
What are SATs results like at Firside Junior School?
Of the pupils at Firside Junior School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 80% reached the expected standard in reading and 89% did so in maths.
What is Firside Junior School's Ofsted rating?
Firside Junior School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in June 2015, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Firside Junior School?
No fixed boundary. When Firside Junior School is oversubscribed, Norfolk allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Firside Junior School?
Firside Junior School was close to full in 2025, at 96% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at Firside Junior School?
Classes at Firside Junior School average 27 pupils (2025/26). 1 class has more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Firside Junior School?
Firside Junior School has around 327 pupils on roll. 14% are eligible for free school meals.
Does Firside Junior School have specialist SEN provision?
Firside Junior School has a resourced provision for speech, language and communication needs, autism and social, emotional and mental health needs: 10 places, 17 pupils on roll.
What is attendance like at Firside Junior School?
5.1% of sessions were missed at Firside Junior School in 2024/25. 10.9% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Firside Junior School?
Apply through Norfolk's coordinated admissions process, naming Firside Junior School on your application. The national closing date in England is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts.
How many road collisions happen near Firside Junior School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 20 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 16 slight. 2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 7 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 Norfolk is 4 (the median across 462 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Firside Junior School?
Firside Junior School is at Firside Junior School, Middletons Lane, Norwich, Norfolk, NR6 5NF.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)