Riverside Community Primary School, Plymouth
Riverside Community Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Plymouth. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in September 2012. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in May 2023 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 22nd-highest of the 73 schools in Plymouth with published results, and 4,602nd of 14,452 across England. It was 64% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2012)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Plymouth (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Riverside Community Primary School in detail
Results
In 2025, 84% of Year 6 pupils at Riverside Community Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 81% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 75% and 74% in Plymouth and 77% and 75% across England.
Results were similar in 2024 (79% in reading, 82% in maths).
Getting a place at Riverside Community Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 43 families put Riverside Community Primary School as their first choice and 50 named it as one of their preferences, for 45 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 Riverside Community Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Riverside Community Primary School are St Paul's Roman Catholic Primary School (0.4 miles, Good, 67% reading, 67% maths); Victoria Road Primary (0.5 miles, Good, 56% reading, 64% maths); Weston Mill Community Primary Academy (0.7 miles, Good, 64% reading, 71% maths); and Drake Primary Academy (0.8 miles, Good, 66% reading, 66% maths).
Riverside Community Primary School's 2025 results were higher than all 4 of them.
St Paul's Roman Catholic Primary SchoolVictoria Road PrimaryWeston Mill Community Primary AcademyDrake Primary Academy
Who goes there
52.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 8.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 75 pupils (20.3%) received SEN support and 10 (2.7%) 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.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is St Budeaux Ferry Road Rail Station, about 550 metres away (roughly a 7-minute walk).
12 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Savage Road (nw-bound), 10 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Riverside Community Primary School stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 131 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, criminal damage and arson and anti-social behaviour. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Plymouth (196).
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Riverside Community Primary School issued 1 suspension, 0.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Riverside Community Primary School are Marine Academy Plymouth (0.9 miles), Saltash Community School (1.3 miles) and Torpoint Community College (1.6 miles).
Marine Academy PlymouthSaltash Community SchoolTorpoint Community College
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; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
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
Ofsted · 3 years agoThis judgement is from September 2012, 14 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its September 2012 inspection - up from Requires Improvement.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
52.4%
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 improved from 79% to 84% (2024 to 2025). Maths has remained stable at around 81% (2024 to 2025). Writing has remained stable at around 78% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
23.3
Avg class size
21.0
Infant (KS1)
24.5
KS2
15
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Riverside Community Primary School
Before and after school care
Riverside Community Primary School is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Source: Free breakfast clubs: schools on the programme, Department for Education Free breakfast clubs in Plymouth
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Riverside Community Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Riverside Community Primary School is in Plymouth; for families living there:
Apply to Plymouth 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
- 4
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.
4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
1 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 Plymouth is 22 (the median across 107 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 Riverside Community Primary School
Will you get a place at Riverside Community Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Riverside Community Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Riverside Community Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Riverside Community Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Plymouth, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Riverside Community Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Plymouth 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.
£9.99 once
One school, inc. VAT. Or £19.99 for up to three schools.
Pro £9 a month, every report included, cancel any time
A report for any school, plus everything else in Pro.
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
64%
Available places
401 pupils
630 places
229 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Plymouth
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Plymouth
Across Plymouth council
Places available
3,035
Applications
2,294
Got 1st preference
93.5%
Got preferred school
98.4%
All primary applications across Plymouth council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(5)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
75
SEN Support
10
EHC Plans
23.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
370
Total Pupils
180
Boys
190
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
25
Teachers
14.8:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,478
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,884
Per pupil
£3166k
Total funding
£315k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
6.0%
Overall absence
15.4%
Persistent absence
370
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
Riverside Community Primary School
Questions parents ask about Riverside Community Primary School
What are SATs results like at Riverside Community Primary School?
Of the pupils at Riverside Community Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 84% reached the expected standard in reading and 81% did so in maths.
What is Riverside Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Riverside Community Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in May 2023, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in September 2012, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Riverside Community Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Riverside Community Primary School is oversubscribed, Plymouth allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Riverside Community Primary School?
Riverside Community Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 64% of its 630 places.
How big are the classes at Riverside Community Primary School?
Classes at Riverside Community Primary School average 23.3 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Riverside Community Primary School?
Riverside Community Primary School has around 370 pupils on roll. 52% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Riverside Community Primary School?
6% of sessions were missed at Riverside Community Primary School in 2024/25. 15.4% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Riverside Community Primary School?
Apply through Plymouth's coordinated admissions process, naming Riverside Community 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 Riverside Community Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Riverside Community Primary School is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school.
How many road collisions happen near Riverside Community 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. 4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 1 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 Plymouth is 22 (the median across 107 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Riverside Community Primary School?
Riverside Community Primary School is at 210 Poole Park Road, St Budeaux, Plymouth, Devon, PL5 1DD.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)