Thornton Primary School, Birmingham

Good
Primary
Community school
Mixed
Ages 711

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Very likely (~366m)Possible (~523m)Unlikely (~680m)Confidence: high

Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mrs Cathy Grace
Pupils:473 / 480 capacity
LA:Birmingham
Phone:01213270824
Address:Thornton Road, Ward End, Birmingham, B8 2LQ
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 3 years ago
-

Overall

Inspected 23 May 2023View full report
URN:103268
UKPRN:10069150
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

Thornton Primary School excels at helping all children make good progress, with particularly strong teaching in some year groups. The school has worked hard to support the growing number of pupils who arrive speaking little or no English, while maintaining excellent behaviour standards and creating a caring environment where children are extremely well looked after and enjoy coming to school.

Key Strengths

  • Teaching is good and in some year groups outstanding, enabling pupils to make good or better progress
  • Pupils' behaviour in lessons and around school is good and often excellent, with outstanding attitudes towards each other and adults
  • Strong and determined leadership by the headteacher has driven rapid improvement over the last year
  • Pupils enjoy school, are extremely well looked after, and have well above average attendance
  • School leaders regularly check teaching quality and maintain high expectations of staff

Areas for Improvement

  • Some teaching still requires improvement
  • Pupils are occasionally not confident starting difficult work when there are insufficient adults to support them
  • Marking of pupils' work is not consistently helpful in showing them how to improve
  • Leaders are not focusing enough on measuring how much progress pupils are making
  • Governors are not asking searching questions to challenge leaders about pupil progress

Safeguarding

Safeguarding arrangements were reviewed as part of the inspection, but a specific effectiveness judgement is not stated in the report.

Thornton Primary School is a good school that has responded quickly to a dip in progress and standards in 2013, with pupils now making good progress across the school. The school is effectively supporting increasing numbers of pupils with little or no English joining during the year.

At a Glance

61.3%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

Primary Performance (KS2)

Academic year 2025/26

KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)

2024
2025
Reading+8ppMaths+3ppWriting+1pp

Reading has improved from 68% to 76%. Maths has remained stable at around 81%. Writing has remained stable at around 73%.

Class Sizes

29.7

Avg class size

29.7

KS2

9

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

99%

Near capacity

473 pupils

480 capacity

7 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - Birmingham

Low pressure
New homes approved:19,703
Projected new pupils:4,926

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Birmingham

Admissions Demand - Birmingham

Low demand0.81x oversubscription

Places available

15,570

Applications

12,541

Got 1st preference

92.4%

Got preferred school

99.0%

Primary admissions across Birmingham (2025/26)

Inspection History(9)

23 May 2023
17 October 2017
Leadership & ManagementGood
12 October 2016

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SEN Provision

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Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

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Teachers & Staff

Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.

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School Funding

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

6.91985%

Overall absence

18.8755%

Persistent absence

498

Enrolments

Authorised4.42192%
Unauthorised2.49793%
Persistent (10%+)18.8755%
Severe (50%+)1.60643%

Absence trend

4.18192%
18/19
6.51318%
20/21
6.50726%
21/22
7.29315%
22/23
7.3113%
23/24
6.91985%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

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