Rivers Primary Academy

Academy sponsor led·Primary school Walsall·WS3 1LY
Composite score
43.3
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#9,810
National rank
#1033
In West Midlands
#43
In Walsall
Top 66%
Nationally

Performance (KS2 SATs)

% meeting expected RWM
54%
% achieving higher RWM
7%
Reading average scaled score
104.0
National avg ≈ 105
Maths average scaled score
101.0
National avg ≈ 104
Reading progress
—
Maths progress
—

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes
Early years provision
Good

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
84%
67 first choices, 59 places
First choices per place
1.14
more first choices than places
Applications naming the school
92
any preference, for 59 places
Last place offered lived
0.61 mi
straight line, 2026 intake · 978 m
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.19
00.511.5
1 per place
0.9520220.9020230.9420240.9520251.142026

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

The cut-off distance is how far the last child offered a place lived, not a catchment boundary: it moves every year with the number of applicants. Published by the council in its 2026 allocation figures, and checked against that document before we show it.

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

School profile

Age range
3–11
Pupils on roll
465
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
49.5%
Typical primary: 21.5%
% EAL
24.3%
Typical primary: 9.6%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
16.6%
Typical primary: 14.3%
% with an EHC plan
2.1%
Typical primary: 3.0%

Attendance

Overall absence
6.4%
Typical primary: 5.3%
Persistently absent
19.2%
Typical primary: 13.3%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
23.8
Typical primary: 20.7
Spend per pupil
£6,344
Typical primary: £6,960

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

Nearby primary schools

Location

Rivers Primary Academy at a glance

Located in Walsall, Rivers Primary Academy is a primary school, classified by the DfE as a sponsor-led academy. The school educates roughly 465 pupils aged 3 to 11. Ofsted judged the school to be 'Good' at its most recent inspection. In the most recent Key Stage 2 SATs, 54% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — below the national average of 61%. That is down 28.0 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 101 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 7% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). Competition for places is real here - 84% of first-choice applicants were offered a Reception place for September 2026 (67 first choices for 59 places). The council's own allocation figures show the last child offered a place for 2026 lived 0.61 miles away in a straight line — that distance is not a fixed catchment and moves each year. Overall pupil absence was 6.4%. There are about 23.8 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 50% 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. 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.

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