Highwood Primary School, Reading
Highwood Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Reading, part of Orchard Learning Alliance. It was 99% full in 2025.
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Wokingham (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Highwood Primary School in detail
Highwood Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "Admissions for the September 2027 cohort will be done via the Wokingham School Portal. You can make an application to move from one school to another at any time of year."
Vision and values (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
Highwood Primary School has no published results of its own yet. Before it took its current form in 2025, under its previous registration (URN 131689), 87% of its Year 6 pupils reached the expected standard in reading and 84% in maths in the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments.
Getting a place at Highwood Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 29 families put Highwood Primary School as their first choice and 92 named it as one of their preferences, for 39 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Highwood Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Highwood Primary School are South Lake Primary School (0.5 miles, 85% reading, 92% maths); Beechwood Primary School (0.5 miles, Requires improvement, 75% reading, 68% maths); St Dominic Savio Catholic Primary School (0.6 miles, Outstanding, 97% reading, 97% maths); and Earley St Peter's Church of England Primary School (0.7 miles, Good, 86% reading, 74% maths).
South Lake Primary SchoolBeechwood Primary SchoolSt Dominic Savio Catholic Primary SchoolEarley St Peter's Church of England Primary School
The trust
Highwood Primary School is one of 10 schools run by Orchard Learning Alliance, an academy trust.
Who goes there
15.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 41.7% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (44%), Asian (32%) and Mixed (7%).
In 2026, 25 pupils (5.8%) received SEN support and 27 (6.3%) 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 speech, language and communication needs.
Highwood Primary School has a resourced provision for speech, language and communication needs: 14 places, 11 pupils on roll.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Earley Rail Station, about 1130 metres away (roughly a 14-minute walk).
10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Bulmershe Sports Centre (opposite), 70 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Highwood 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 155 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Wokingham (70), as is usual near a town centre.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Highwood Primary School are The Bulmershe School (0.2 miles), Maiden Erlegh School (1 mile), UTC Reading (1.1 miles) and Maiden Erlegh School in Reading (1.1 miles).
The Bulmershe SchoolMaiden Erlegh SchoolUTC ReadingMaiden Erlegh School in Reading
Sources: DfE school performance data; GIAS establishment links; DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Highwood Primary School has not been inspected by Ofsted since it took its current form in April 2025. Before that, as Highwood Primary School (URN 131689), it was rated Good in December 2021.
At a Glance
15.9%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
Resourced provision: Speech and language
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
Class Sizes
28.1
Avg class size
25.0
Infant (KS1)
30.8
KS2
13
Total classes
6 classes with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
Results at Highwood Primary School before it took its current form in 2025 (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25Published under the school's previous registration (URN 131689). There are no figures for it in its current form yet, so these are shown separately.
KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 81% to 87% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 69% to 84% (2024 to 2025). Writing has improved from 67% to 71% (2024 to 2025).
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Social & online
Keep up with Highwood Primary School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Highwood Primary School.
- Junior Adventures Group @ Bulmershe RG5220m away · Not yet graded
- uSports at South Lake Primary850m away · Not yet graded
- Core Kids Club - Beechwood Primary School970m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
Highwood Primary School is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Wokingham's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Highwood Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Highwood Primary School is in Wokingham; for families living there:
Apply to Wokingham for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 7
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 7 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 6 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
3 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 Wokingham is 7 (the median across 85 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 Highwood Primary School
Will you get a place at Highwood Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Highwood Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Highwood Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Highwood Primary School.
- Wokingham publishes last distance offered figures, but none for Highwood Primary School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Highwood Primary School for 2026 entry.
- How many families in Wokingham 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
418 pupils
420 places
2 spare places 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 Wokingham council
Places available
2,172
Applications
1,832
Got 1st preference
87.5%
Got preferred school
98.0%
All primary applications across Wokingham council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
25
SEN Support
27
EHC Plans
12.1%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Highwood Primary School has a resourced provision for speech, language and communication needs: 14 places, 11 pupils on roll.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
429
Total Pupils
236
Boys
193
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
24
Teachers
17.9:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,318
Mean salary
2026 data
Absence at Highwood Primary School before it took its current form in 20252024/25
Published under the school's previous registration (URN 131689). There are no figures for it in its current form yet, so these are shown separately.
5.1%
Overall absence
11.3%
Persistent absence
380
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
Highwood Primary School
Questions parents ask about Highwood Primary School
Are there exam results for Highwood Primary School?
Highwood Primary School has no published results of its own yet. Before it took its current form in 2025, under its previous registration (URN 131689), 87% of its Year 6 pupils reached the expected standard in reading and 84% in maths in the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments.
What is Highwood Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Highwood Primary School has not been inspected by Ofsted since it took its current form in April 2025. Before that, as Highwood Primary School (URN 131689), it was rated Good in December 2021.
What is the catchment area for Highwood Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Highwood Primary School is oversubscribed, Wokingham allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Highwood Primary School?
Highwood 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 Highwood Primary School?
Classes at Highwood Primary School average 28.1 pupils (2025/26). 6 classes have more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Highwood Primary School?
Highwood Primary School has around 429 pupils on roll. 16% are eligible for free school meals.
Does Highwood Primary School have specialist SEN provision?
Highwood Primary School has a resourced provision for speech, language and communication needs: 14 places, 11 pupils on roll.
How do I apply to Highwood Primary School?
Apply through Wokingham's coordinated admissions process, naming Highwood 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 Highwood Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists 3 out-of-school clubs within a kilometre of Highwood Primary School: Junior Adventures Group @ Bulmershe RG5 (220m away, registered, not yet graded), uSports at South Lake Primary (850m away, registered, not yet graded) and Core Kids Club - Beechwood Primary School (970m away, registered, not yet graded). The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
How many road collisions happen near Highwood Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 7 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 6 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 3 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 Wokingham is 7 (the median across 85 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Highwood Primary School?
Highwood Primary School is at Fairwater Drive, Woodley, Reading, Berkshire, RG5 3JE.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)