Tilbury Pioneer Academy, Tilbury
Tilbury Pioneer Academy is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Tilbury, part of Gateway Learning Community. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in April 2017. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in September 2022 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 20th-highest of the 39 schools in Thurrock with published results, and 5,291st of 14,452 across England. It was 98% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2017)
- 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 Thurrock (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Tilbury Pioneer Academy in detail
Tilbury Pioneer Academy in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "Tilbury Pioneer Academy is a welcoming, caring and ambitious academy and I am honoured to be the Head of School. I am committed to working in close partnership with our families as I believe that effective relationships between school and home are the key to enabling children to make outstanding progress."
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.
Coming up: an open day on Wednesday 25 November 2026, an admissions event on Thursday 26 November 2026 and an open evening on Friday 27 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.
All school open days in Thurrock
Headteacher's welcome (school website)Clubs (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 76% of Year 6 pupils at Tilbury Pioneer Academy reached the expected standard in reading and 86% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 81% and 81% in Thurrock and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 61% in reading and 73% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at Tilbury Pioneer Academy
For September 2026 entry, 51 families put Tilbury Pioneer Academy as their first choice and 100 named it as one of their preferences, for 55 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 Tilbury Pioneer Academy
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Tilbury Pioneer Academy are The Gateway Primary Free School (0.7 miles, Good, 80% reading, 88% maths); Lansdowne Primary Academy (0.7 miles, Good, 81% reading, 81% maths); St Mary's Catholic Primary School (0.7 miles, Good, 73% reading, 80% maths); and Chadwell St Mary Primary School (1.1 miles, Good, 86% reading, 86% maths).
Tilbury Pioneer Academy's 2025 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.
The Gateway Primary Free SchoolLansdowne Primary AcademySt Mary's Catholic Primary SchoolChadwell St Mary Primary School
The trust
Tilbury Pioneer Academy 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.
Who goes there
39.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Tilbury Town Rail Station, about 0.9 miles away in a straight line.
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Gainsborough Avenue (northbound), 200 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Tilbury Pioneer Academy stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Tilbury Pioneer Academy issued 31 suspensions, 6.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; 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 · 4 years agoThis judgement is from April 2017, 9 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 April 2017 inspection - up from Inadequate.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
39.9%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 61% to 76% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 73% to 86% (2024 to 2025). Writing has improved from 73% to 83% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
26.1
Avg class size
26.2
Infant (KS1)
30.0
KS2
14
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from Tilbury Pioneer Academy
A Seaside Adventure at Chalkwell Beach
7 Aug 2026
TPA’s School Council meets MP Jen Craft
7 Aug 2026
Adventures at Hyde Hall
7 Aug 2026
Culture Day
7 Aug 2026
Sports Day
1 Aug 2026
Eco Community Fest
1 Aug 2026
From Tilbury Pioneer Academy's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Keep up with Tilbury Pioneer Academy
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Tilbury Pioneer Academy.
- Tilbury Pioneer - Premier EducationAt the school · Not yet graded
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Tilbury Pioneer Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Tilbury Pioneer Academy is in Thurrock; for families living there:
- Thurrock's school travel policy: Home to school travel and transport policy
- How to apply: apply for school travel support
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 12
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 5
- Children hurt
- 6
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 12 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 7 slight.
6 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 4 in a vehicle or otherwise.
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 Thurrock is 12 (the median across 58 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 Tilbury Pioneer Academy
Will you get a place at Tilbury Pioneer Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Tilbury Pioneer Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Tilbury Pioneer Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Tilbury Pioneer Academy.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Thurrock, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Tilbury Pioneer Academy for 2015 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Thurrock 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
98%
Near capacity
413 pupils
420 places
7 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Tilbury
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Tilbury
Across Thurrock council
Places available
2,543
Applications
2,192
Got 1st preference
90.1%
Got preferred school
97.7%
All primary applications across Thurrock council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
68
SEN Support
26
EHC Plans
20.6%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
456
Total Pupils
236
Boys
220
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
22
Teachers
20.7:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£49,327
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,083
Per pupil
£2905k
Total funding
£265k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
6.0%
Overall absence
17.0%
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
Tilbury Pioneer Academy
Questions parents ask about Tilbury Pioneer Academy
What are SATs results like at Tilbury Pioneer Academy?
Of the pupils at Tilbury Pioneer Academy who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 76% reached the expected standard in reading and 86% did so in maths.
What is Tilbury Pioneer Academy's Ofsted rating?
Tilbury Pioneer Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection, in September 2022, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in April 2017, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Tilbury Pioneer Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Tilbury Pioneer Academy is oversubscribed, Thurrock allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Tilbury Pioneer Academy?
Tilbury Pioneer Academy was close to full in 2025, at 98% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at Tilbury Pioneer Academy?
Classes at Tilbury Pioneer Academy average 26.1 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Tilbury Pioneer Academy?
Tilbury Pioneer Academy has around 456 pupils on roll. 40% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Tilbury Pioneer Academy?
6% of sessions were missed at Tilbury Pioneer Academy in 2024/25. 17% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Tilbury Pioneer Academy?
Apply through Thurrock's coordinated admissions process, naming Tilbury Pioneer Academy 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 Tilbury Pioneer Academy have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Tilbury Pioneer - Premier Education (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 Tilbury Pioneer Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 12 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 7 slight. 6 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 4 in a vehicle or otherwise. 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 Thurrock is 12 (the median across 58 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Tilbury Pioneer Academy?
Tilbury Pioneer Academy is at Dickens Avenue, Tilbury, Essex, RM18 8HJ.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)