SCHOOL PROFILE

Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School

Primary Community school URN 121013
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 420 Published school capacity
Capacity used 96.2% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 5 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

28 June 2023
Latest published outcome School remains Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Community school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Does not apply
Local authority Norfolk
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 404 404 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 197 48.8% of pupils
Male pupils 207 51.2% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

18.8%
6.0 pts below England
School 18.8%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk 23.2%
East of England 19.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

9.4%
10.9 pts below England
School 9.4%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk 15.9%
East of England 16.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

3.2%
2.2 pts above England
School 3.2%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk 3.1%
East of England 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
83.7%
338
Any other White background
7.9%
32
Any other Mixed background
1.5%
6
Unclassified
1.2%
5
White and Asian
1.2%
5
Bangladeshi
1.0%
4
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 12.4% 50 of 404 pupils
8.4 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 12.4%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk 23.0%
East of England 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 9.4% 38 pupils
England 14.8% 5.4 pts below
EHC plans 3.0% 12 pupils
England 6.0% 3.1 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 21
Social, emotional & mental health 13
Moderate learning difficulty 7
Autistic spectrum disorder 6
Hearing impairment 1
Physical disability 1

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

71.0% 10.6 pts above England
School 71.0%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk 55.1%
East of England 58.3%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

83.0%

9.2 pts above England

School 83.0%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk 67.1%
East of England 72.9%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

75.0%

4.7 pts above England

School 75.0%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk 65.4%
East of England 68.0%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

86.0%

14.0 pts above England

School 86.0%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk 67.3%
East of England 70.3%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

4.85%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.37 pts lower than England
School 4.85%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk 6.25%
East of England 6.17%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

10.86%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

4.95 pts lower than England
School 10.86%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk 16.34%
East of England 15.39%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.56%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.25 pts lower than England
School 0.56%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk 1.77%
East of England 1.83%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

96.2% 8.0 pts above England
Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School
96.2%
King's Lynn and West Norfolk
80.9%
East of England
87.4%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information