Primary schools are responsible for instilling a whole plethora of important skills into the young people in their care.
From making friends to navigating tricky social situations, from working as a team to being a good citizen, children will learn many vital lessons during their early school years. Schools are especially responsible for teaching and developing their basic academic skills - which will form the bedrock of their ability to succeed in the rest of their lifelong learning journey.
But as any city-dwelling parent will know, there are often a number of nearby schools to choose from, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. That’s why we’ve created a league table of state-funded primary schools in the Portsmouth City Council area.
It is based on the percentage of each school’s pupils who completed Year 6 in the 2022-23 school year (the most up-to-date data currently available, until the finalised data for the 2024 school year is published in December or January) and met the government’s expected standards for reading, writing and maths. We’ve selected only schools which surpassed both the national and the Portsmouth council area’s averages, those with the city’s very highest scores.
In addition to that, all schools on the list also had an overall Ofsted rating of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ before this measure was dropped last month, meaning the quality of education provided, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and student safeguarding were all been found to meet or exceed government standards the last time the school was inspected.
Here were the eight Portsmouth primary schools that came out on top:
1. St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School
At the top of the list is St John’s, a Catholic primary school in the Landport area. It was formerly rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the school year ending 2023, 77% of its pupils met the expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared to 49% locally and 60% nationally. | Google
2. Langstone Junior Academy
Langstone is a primary school in the Copnor area, formerly rated ‘good’ by Ofsted. In the school year ending 2023, 69% of its pupils met the expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared to 49% locally and 60% nationally. | Google
3. Ark Dickens Primary Academy
Ark Dickens Primary is a school in the Buckland area, also formerly rated ‘good’ by Ofsted. In the school year ending 2023, 67% of its pupils met the expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared to 49% locally and 60% nationally. | Google
4. Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School
Corpus Christi is a Catholic primary school in North End, formerly found to be ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the school year ending 2023, 66% of its pupils met the expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared to 49% locally and 60% nationally. | Google