SchoolFacts.uk

Waterside Primary Academy

Primary · Chesham · HP5 1QU

Data updated

⇄ Compare with another school
Good

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

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

Inspected 3 December 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

225 pupils · 93% of 242 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy sponsor led
Age range
3–11
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
31.8% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
17.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
20.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
4.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
https://www.watersideprimaryacademy.org/
URN
149097

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 27 families named it first for 28 Reception places, 0.96 first choices per place. Its last Reception place offered on distance for 2023 entry went to 1.116 miles; distance decided places in 1 of the 9 years of Reception rounds we hold, 2018 to 2026. At its inspection on 3 December 2024 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.1% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.96 first-choice applications per place

28 places offered · 27 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

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. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2023 entry, the most recent year with a distance-only cutoff) lived within 1.116 miles

measurement method not stated by the council.

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.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

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

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

32 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
34%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
9%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
103
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
97
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school34%
Median of its 12 closest peers62%
Buckinghamshire average66.3%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Harefield Infant and Junior SchoolHarefield · 8 miles awayGood67%
Arlies Primary SchoolStalybridge · 139 miles awayGood37%
St Benedict's Catholic Primary School HindleyWigan · 152 miles awayGood86%
Marden Lodge Primary School and NurseryCaterham · 36 miles awayExpected standard64%
All Soul's Church of England Primary SchoolFolkestone · 86 miles awayGood61%
All Saints CofE Junior AcademyHastings · 77 miles awayGood63%
Tangmere Primary AcademyChichester · 58 miles awayGood (2016)70%
Upshire Primary Foundation SchoolWALTHAM ABBEY · 27 miles awayRequires improvement37%
Highfield Community Primary SchoolChester · 143 miles awayExpected standard50%
Burnley St Stephen's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolBurnley · 159 miles awayNeeds attention40%
Rivington Primary SchoolSt Helens · 152 miles awayGood59%
Whitstable Junior SchoolWhitstable · 74 miles awayNo current grade68%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 58% (Buckinghamshire 56%, England 60%) · Asian Indian 10% (Buckinghamshire 7%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 7% (Buckinghamshire 3%, England 2%) · Asian Pakistani 5% (Buckinghamshire 10%, England 5%) · Any other White background 5% (Buckinghamshire 6%, England 7%) · Mixed White and Asian 4% (Buckinghamshire 3%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 4% (Buckinghamshire 3%, England 2%) · Black African 3% (Buckinghamshire 3%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 3% (Buckinghamshire 3%, England 3%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Buckinghamshire 1%, England 1%) · Not recorded 1% (Buckinghamshire 1%, England 1%) · 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)
6.1%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
17.7%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

57.29 suspensions per 100 pupils and 1 permanent exclusion · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Buckinghamshire: 2.72 suspensions and 0.02 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

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
23.9
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

100% of teachers stayed at the school the following year

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 20.55% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

63.6% of teachers took sickness absence, 4 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 £50,316; 16.7% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

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

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£8,612
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 78% (77%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 7% (8%) · supplies and services 11% (9%) · educational supplies 9% (4%) · bought-in professional services 2% (2%) · catering 4% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£31,000

Spending and reserves, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

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)
6/10around the middle for England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
7/10less deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher33.5%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications19.7%18.1%
In managerial or professional work35.3%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways16.5%18.1%
Residents in very good health47.3%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier66.3%62.3%
Social housing27%17.1%
Privately rented6.5%20.5%
Detached houses12.3%22.9%
Flats8.8%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms13.6%21.1%
Households with no car or van13.8%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01017793 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£433,000119 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£346,000–£545,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (22)£882,000
Semi-detached (27)£450,000
Terraced (48)£406,000
Flat (22)£242,500

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

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
2an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
5an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
2an 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