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High Down Infant School

Primary · Portishead · BS20 6DY

Data updated

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Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 9 November 2022

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

198 pupils · 73% of 270 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
3–7
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
4.5% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
6.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
2.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
http://www.highdownschools.co.uk
URN
143284

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 40 families named it first for 40 Reception places, 1.00 first choices per place. Its last Reception place offered on distance for 2024 entry went to 0.552 miles; distance decided places in 4 of the 6 years of Reception rounds we hold, 2017 to 2024. Ofsted last graded it Good on 9 November 2022, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 3.2% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.00 first-choice applications per place

40 places offered · 40 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Places by distance, last offered at 0.552 miles for 2024 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2024 entry) lived within 0.552 miles

measured in a straight line.

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Would you have got in? Check your postcode

One free check a month, no account needed: your postcode against this school's cutoff history. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools you would be inside, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 88% (North Somerset 81%, England 60%) · Any other White background 3% (North Somerset 7%, England 7%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (North Somerset 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (North Somerset 1%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 1% (North Somerset 1%, England 2%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (North Somerset 0%, England 2%) · Asian Chinese 1% (North Somerset 0%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (North Somerset 1%, England 2%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
3.2%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
2.5%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.00 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · North Somerset: 2.86 suspensions and 0.01 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
25
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

83% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 12% moved to another state school · 6% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

50% of teachers took sickness absence, 4.6 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £56,737; 15.4% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£6,668
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 81% (77%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 11% (8%) · supplies and services 4% (9%) · educational supplies 2% (4%) · bought-in professional services 1% (2%) · catering 8% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve -£15,000; in-year balance +£106,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher43.5%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications9.1%18.1%
In managerial or professional work49.4%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways6.8%18.1%
Residents in very good health54.1%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier91.8%62.3%
Social housing1.9%17.1%
Privately rented6.3%20.5%
Detached houses78.8%22.9%
Flats1.4%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms56.3%21.1%
Households with no car or van5.8%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01014798 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£382,500251 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£307,500–£490,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (104)£492,000
Semi-detached (63)£345,000
Terraced (46)£324,000
Flat (38)£218,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Inside the Reception cutoff distance (0.89 km, 2024 entry): 217 sales, median £400,000. The homes that would have got a child in that year, at the straight-line distance the school last filled to.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
0an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
0an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
1an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
0an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools