Thurton Primary School, Norwich
Thurton Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Norwich. It has a Church of England religious character. It was rated Outstanding at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in March 2015. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in April 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 62nd-highest of the 102 schools in Norwich with published results, and 10,359th of 14,452 across England. It was 99% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Outstanding (2015)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Norfolk (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Thurton Primary School in detail
Thurton Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "Thurton Church of England Primary School is a half form entry primary school in South Norfolk, catering for children betwen the ages of four and eleven. We have space for 105 children, with a maximum of 30 children per class for Reception and KS1 (year 1 and 2) and try to keep our classes under 30 in years 3-6."
Vision and values (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils at Thurton Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 67% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 73% and 70% in Norfolk and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 79% in reading and 86% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Thurton Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 17 families put Thurton Primary School as their first choice and 33 named it as one of their preferences, for 15 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 2 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at Thurton Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Thurton Primary School are Seething and Mundham Primary School (2 miles, Good, 88% reading, 75% maths); Rockland St Mary Primary School (2 miles, Good); Alpington and Bergh Apton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School (2.1 miles, Outstanding, 88% reading, 94% maths); and Loddon Infant and Nursery School (2.4 miles).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Thurton Primary School.
Seething and Mundham Primary SchoolRockland St Mary Primary SchoolAlpington and Bergh Apton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolLoddon Infant and Nursery School
What parents say
45 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Thurton Primary School (as of September 2025): 96% would recommend the school, 96% say their child is happy there and 29% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (98%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (29%).
Who goes there
5.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 0% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Buckenham Rail Station, about 3.2 miles away in a straight line.
2 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is George & Dragon (adjacent), 50 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 0 crimes within a mile of the school. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Norfolk (28).
Suspensions and exclusions
Thurton Primary School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; 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
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from March 2015, 11 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's April 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Thurton Primary School excels at creating a caring, purposeful community where children behave exceptionally well and develop confidence and resilience. The school offers rich experiences including trips, clubs and performance opportunities that broaden pupils' horizons and help them discover new talents. Children receive skilled, precise teaching - particularly in reading and phonics - with strong support for those who find learning tricky.
Key Strengths
- Excellent behaviour and strong sense of community with pupils supporting each other and actively contributing to school life
- Outstanding early years provision where children thrive, develop well and learn through rich play experiences
- High-quality teaching of phonics and reading with regular checks to identify pupils needing extra support
- Broad and ambitious curriculum with clear knowledge and vocabulary targets at each stage
- Extensive personal development opportunities including residential trips, clubs, competitions and performance experiences
Areas for Improvement
- In some newly introduced curriculum subjects, teachers are still developing expertise in how knowledge builds over time, meaning assessment and adjustments to teaching are not always effective
- Some teaching focuses on the topic rather than the most important knowledge pupils need to remember and understand
- Pupils sometimes remember topics generally rather than key learning, making it harder to build knowledge and make connections
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective and the school has created an open and positive culture that puts pupils' interests first.
Extracurricular Activities
Gardening club, karate, choir, school events and performances, residential trips from Year 2 including canoeing and team building activities, interschool competitions
Thurton Primary School is a smaller-than-average Church of England primary school where pupils develop a strong sense of community in a nurturing environment. The school has been judged as Good for quality of education, with Outstanding ratings for behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and early years provision.
At a Glance
5.5%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
45 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 79% to 73% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 86% to 67% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 64% to 53% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
27.5
Avg class size
23.0
Infant (KS1)
32.0
KS2
4
Total classes
2 classes with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from Thurton Primary School
From Thurton Primary School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Keep up with Thurton Primary School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Thurton Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Thurton Primary 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
- 3
- Fatal
- 1
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 0 serious and 2 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt.
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 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
Your chances of a place at Thurton Primary School
Will you get a place at Thurton Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Thurton Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Thurton Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Thurton Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Norfolk, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Thurton Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Norfolk 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
104 pupils
105 places
1 spare place 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.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(8)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
14
SEN Support
5
EHC Plans
17.3%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
110
Total Pupils
56
Boys
54
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
6
Teachers
18.3:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£52,537
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,201
Per pupil
£699k
Total funding
£9k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.1%
Overall absence
7.7%
Persistent absence
91
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Questions parents ask about Thurton Primary School
What are SATs results like at Thurton Primary School?
Of the pupils at Thurton Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 73% reached the expected standard in reading and 67% did so in maths.
What is Thurton Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Thurton Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in April 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in March 2015, it was rated Outstanding.
What is the catchment area for Thurton Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Thurton Primary 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 Thurton Primary School?
Thurton Primary School was close to full in 2025, at 99% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at Thurton Primary School?
Classes at Thurton Primary School average 27.5 pupils (2025/26). 2 classes have more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Thurton Primary School?
Thurton Primary School has around 110 pupils on roll. 6% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Thurton Primary School?
4.1% of sessions were missed at Thurton Primary School in 2024/25. 7.7% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Thurton Primary School?
Apply through Norfolk's coordinated admissions process, naming Thurton 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.
How many road collisions happen near Thurton Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 0 serious and 2 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt. 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 Norfolk is 4 (the median across 462 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Thurton Primary School?
Thurton Primary School is at Ashby Road, Thurton, Norwich, Norfolk, NR14 6AT.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)