Orchard Vale Community School

School overview

Orchard Vale Community School is a primary school serving Barnstaple, Devon, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. It has 323 pupils aged 3 to 11 on roll. At its most recent graded inspection, Ofsted rated Orchard Vale Community School 'Good'. In the most recent Key Stage 2 SATs, 51% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — below the national average of 61%. That is down 12.0 percentage points in the proportion reaching the expected standard on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of primary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 104 in reading and 103 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 2% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). Orchard Vale Community School was not oversubscribed for September 2026: all 31 families who put it first were offered a place. Overall pupil absence was 5.4%. There are about 19.9 pupils per teacher. When you visit, you might ask how the school stretches its higher-attaining pupils and supports those who need to catch up. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.