Freshwaters Primary Academy

Academy sponsor led·Primary school Harlow, Essex·CM20 3QA
Composite score
46.1
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#8,784
National rank
#943
In East of England
#251
In Essex
Top 59%
Nationally

Performance (KS2 SATs)

% meeting expected RWM
62%
% achieving higher RWM
5%
Reading average scaled score
106.0
National avg ≈ 105
Maths average scaled score
105.0
National avg ≈ 104
Reading progress
—
Maths progress
—

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
48 first choices, 57 places
First choices per place
0.84
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
111
any preference, for 57 places
Applications from another council area
2%
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.01
00.511.5
1 per place
0.6820220.8620230.8620240.8520250.842026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Every child who put Freshwaters Primary Academy first was offered a place in 2026, so no distance cut-off applied: living further away did not cost a place that year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
3–11
Pupils on roll
415
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
40.0%
Typical primary: 21.5%
% EAL
27.2%
Typical primary: 9.6%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
7.2%
Typical primary: 14.3%
% with an EHC plan
3.6%
Typical primary: 3.0%

Attendance

Overall absence
6.9%
Typical primary: 5.3%
Persistently absent
22.1%
Typical primary: 13.3%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
20.2
Typical primary: 20.7
Spend per pupil
£5,756
Typical primary: £6,960

“Typical” = the median primary school in England. What this means

Nearby primary schools

Location

Freshwaters Primary Academy at a glance

Located in Harlow, Essex, Freshwaters Primary Academy is a primary school, classified by the DfE as a sponsor-led academy. The school educates roughly 415 pupils aged 3 to 11. In the most recent Key Stage 2 SATs, 62% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — broadly in line with the national average of 61%. That is down 6.0 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 106 in reading and 105 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 5% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). Freshwaters Primary Academy was not oversubscribed for September 2026: all 48 families who put it first were offered a place. Overall pupil absence was 6.9%. There are about 20.2 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 40% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, compared with roughly 24% nationally — useful context when reading the results above. Freshwaters Primary Academy does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. 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.

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