Wellingborough's Olympic Primary School rated good by Ofsted, with inspectors saying it has 'improved considerably' since 2018

Olympic Primary School on Wellingborough’s Queensway estate has been rated good by Ofsted, with positive inspection results in all categories.

Three schools in the Wellingborough area have enjoyed positive reports from Ofsted, as Warwick Academy in Dulley Avenue and Ruskin Academy both recently received the same grade.

Olympic Primary School completes the trio, which were all inspected at the start of the year, with Olympic Primary being visited on January 24 and 25.

Matt Bolger, headteacher at Olympic Primary, said: “The journey that Olympic Primary School has been on since joining the trust has been amazing.

“To see the pupils talk so confidently about their learning and to showcase the best of what we do for the inspection teams was fantastic to see.

"My thanks to everyone on the Olympic team for helping us to get where we are today - and how we are now planning to keep the journey moving forwards to being the best possible school we can be.”

Justin James, chief executive officer for the Lion Academy Trust, said: “We know how hard all our teams work to deliver for our pupils.

“The impact of the work they do every day is well received by the parents and for the benefit of our pupils.

"We recognise there is always more work to be done and we welcome the challenge of developing the school further to be the local primary school of choice for all families in the community.”

There had been no Ofsted inspections since the school joined the Lion Academy Trust in 2018, but previous visits showed serious failings across all areas, which led to the trust taking over the running of a cluster of schools in the area.

Olympic Primary was given the grade of requires improvement when it was assessed in 2017 and 2015.

The report in 2017 said: “Teachers are not providing consistent challenge, especially in reading, for pupils to deepen their understanding in order to achieve higher standards.”

However, in 2023 the standards have clearly been raised, with the recent report saying: “Staff adapt lessons to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities - these changes ensure that pupils with SEND learn the full curriculum.”

The document also goes on to praise the school’s safety measures and student satisfaction, noting that bullying isn’t an issue.

An ‘ambitious curriculum’ is deployed to help students learn at a steady, but progressive pace, with a clever ‘I do, we do, you do’ exercise that helps students retain the information.

However, there are areas to improve on as the report adds: “In some subjects, the school’s well-planned curriculum has not yet led to the high attainment outcomes that leaders want.

"Some pupils do not remember the important things they need to know with a sufficient depth of understanding.

"This is because staff do not check precisely enough on how well pupils are doing during some lessons.”

This being said, the significant strides that the school has taken in recent years is encouraging.

Olympic Primary can celebrate a great result, and parents can feel confident knowing the school is an effective place to learn and grow.