The Gateway Primary Free School, Grays

From the headteacher's welcome: "At the Gateway Primary Free School, we are committed to providing children with the outstanding teaching they deserve. With a focus on educating the whole child, we not only offer an engaging and inspiring curriculum, we also develop key skills to equip our pupils for life."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, cricket, athletics, cross-country, drama and eco club.

The school runs a breakfast club from 7:30am, from £1.50 per session.

In 2025, 80% of Year 6 pupils at The Gateway Primary Free School reached the expected standard in reading and 88% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 81% and 81% in Thurrock and 77% and 75% across England.

Results rose from 76% in reading and 86% in maths in 2024.

For September 2026 entry, 41 families put The Gateway Primary Free School as their first choice and 115 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.

The nearest other state primary schools to The Gateway Primary Free School are Chadwell St Mary Primary School (0.5 miles, Good, 86% reading, 86% maths); Tilbury Pioneer Academy (0.7 miles, Good, 76% reading, 86% maths); Herringham Primary Academy (0.8 miles, Good, 77% reading, 89% maths); and Woodside Academy (0.9 miles, Good, 86% reading, 83% maths).

The Gateway Primary Free School's 2025 results were higher than 2 of these 4 schools.

The Gateway Primary Free School is one of 5 schools run by Gateway Learning Community, an academy trust.

Across the trust's primary schools, 71% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.

71 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about The Gateway Primary Free School (as of September 2025): 86% would recommend the school, 94% say their child is happy there and 71% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (94%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (71%).

35.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 25.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (47%), Asian (13%) and Black (11%).

In 2026, 65 pupils (14.2%) received SEN support and 14 (3.1%) 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.

The Gateway Primary Free School had 30 teachers in 2026, one for every 13 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.

The nearest railway station is Tilbury Town Rail Station, about 1 mile away in a straight line.

2 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Gateway Academy (s-bound), 260 metres away.

In 2024/25, The Gateway Primary Free School issued 24 suspensions, 5.5 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The secondary schools closest to The Gateway Primary Free School are The Gateway Academy (under 0.1 miles), Orsett Heath Academy (1.4 miles), Grays Convent High School (1.5 miles) and Thames Park Secondary School (1.8 miles).