These are the top four state primaries in and around Battersea.
- Chesterton Primary School in North Battersea,
- Heathbrook Primary School in Nine Elms/Clapham,
- Honeywell Infant & Junior Schools in South Battersea, and
- Belleville Primary School in South Battersea.
In a relatively affluent area amongst a strong group of independent prep schools, these Battersea state primary schools are among the top 2% of state primary schools, nationwide, as determined by the Schoolsmith Score.
The differences between primary schools are less obvious than prep schools, and deliberately so. State education is designed such that all children should receive the same curriculum irrespective of where they are taught, and who is teaching them. So, to differentiate, parents have traditionally looked to SATS results and Ofsted gradings. Beyond that, there is also a commonly held belief that Church schools are ‘better’ schools. That’s pretty much it. Hopefully, this comparison might shed a little more light.
There is also a partner review for prep schools in the same area; Battersea and Clapham. And that can be found here (soon).
Age range, gender mix, and faith
Each of the four primary schools educate children from age 3 to 11. Which means that they each have a nursery class in addition to a Reception class. Though please be aware that attendance at the nursery is no guarantee of a place in Reception.
Apart from Westbourne Primary, all the schools provide access to out of hours care from 7.30/8.00am to 6.00/6.30pm. They use a mixture of school staff and external contractors on-site to provide that childcare.
As far as gender mix goes, they are all co-educational, as indeed are almost all state primary schools.
None of the schools are church schools, but they teach a mandatory RE curriculum.
Admissions
In terms of admissions policy, please refer to the individual schools’ websites. All operate a catchment system.
Belleville Primary and Chesterton Primary are regularly oversubscribed for first preference places in Reception.
Inspections
Ofsted inspectors consider Belleville Primary and Chesterton Primary to be Outstanding schools, according to their latest inspections. By the same measure, Heathbrook Primary and Honeywell Schools are Good schools.
Buildings and grounds
Belleville Primary and Honeywell Primary occupy three and four storey Victorian Board School buildings between Clapham and Wandsworth Commons. To Year 1, pupils at Belleville Primary are located in a more modern building in Meteor Street, 15 minutes from the main school site.
Heathbrook Primary also occupies a three-storey Victorian building. Chesterton Primary occupies single storey 1960s/1970s facilities close to Battersea Park.
Class sizes and classes per year
These four Battersea and Clapham primary schools are quite different in size. Size can affect the look and feel of a school. And larger schools tend to have more facilities, though not necessarily in proportion to the number of pupils.
There are;
- 2 two-form entry schools; Chesterton Primary School, and Heathbrook Primary School.
- 1 three-form entry; Honeywell Infant and Junior Schools.
- 1 five-form entry (some years have four classes); Belleville Primary School.
Class sizes at each school average 27 to 30 pupils.
Facilities at Battersea and Clapham state primary schools
They all have some specialist facilities to support their curricula. But there is little to differentiate the schools.
For sport each one has playgrounds, a MUGA or Astro pitch, and one or more school halls.
Beyond the multi-purpose hall, arts facilities are limited. But Honeywell Schools also have a music room. And Heathbrook Primary also has an art room and a music room. As for academic facilities there are libraries, environmental areas, and IT facilities, be they a computer room or in-class laptops and tablets.
Parental Involvement
All four schools have an active parent body and PTA promoting their schools’ communities and supporting the schools. Those at Honeywell Schools and Belleville Primary are noteworthy for the number of activities and sums of money they raise for the school. Historically those sums have been as high as £40k per year.
Academic curricula
These Battersea and Clapham primary schools teach a broad curriculum in line with the National Curriculum. And they all use a thematic approach, co-ordinating or linking subjects such as the humanities and the arts to a half-termly theme.
Themes at Chesterton Primary and Honeywell Schools reflect the schools UN Rights Respecting and Sustainability agenda. Honeywell has UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Gold accreditation.
Two schools are academies; Belleville Primary and Chesterton Primary. As such they may have more flexibility in the school day and curriculum. And as members of multi-academy trusts (MAT) they may have access to more specialist teaching resources.
This is evident at Belleville Primary, where specialists teach sport, music, art and languages. However, Heathbrook Primary is not part of a MAT, nor a federation, but it does have specialist teaching for art, music, and sport.
Most of the schools include some element of outdoor learning in their curricula, particularly for their youngest pupils. Heathbrook Primary offers a significant outdoor learning programme for all year groups. It is a lead school in Lambeth for its Natural Thinkers Programme.
Each school teaches a modern foreign language. Heathbrook Primary and Chesterton Primary teach Spanish from Year 3. The Honeywell Schools and Belleville Primary teach French from Year 3.
Each of the schools offers educational trips and visitors. And there are residential trips in Year 5 and/or Year 6.
Sport at Battersea and Clapham state primary schools
Each school teaches around 10 or 12 different sports demonstrating a commitment to variety and participation in sport.
The size of the primary school, in terms of number of pupils, has a bearing on the strength of their sports teams. The idea being that larger schools have a larger pool to select from. In which case we should expect Belleville Primary and maybe Honeywell Juniors to have the strongest teams.
Local bragging rights maybe, but none of the schools has a sustained track record for sporting achievement in national competitions.
Pupils at these four Battersea and Clapham primary schools benefit from a number of after-school activities. There are clubs for academic enrichment and hobbies, arts, as well as sport.
The arts at Battersea and Clapham state primary schools
The schools all promote engagement with the arts on an individual and ensemble basis. For example, there is art, a choir, instrument learning, and dramatic performances at each school. Belleville Primary and Honeywell Junior School also have some instrument ensembles. And there are extra-curricular clubs for drama, art, music and dance.
None of the schools has a current Artsmark accreditation.
Academic results
These four Battersea and Clapham primary schools are noteworthy for their academic results. On a four-year average, they are all in the top 8% of UK schools for attainment in Year 6 SATS. Which means they are consistently good, not just scoring well one year for a particularly able year group.
Honeywell Junior School ranks in the top 2% of schools nationwide for attainment. Chesterton Primary and Belleville Primary are in the top 4%, and Heathbrook Primary is in the top 8%.
As for pupil progress, again measured on four-year average SATS results, all are in the top 30%. Chesterton Primary is in the top 5% nationwide, and Heathbrook Primary is in the top 6%.
Choosing the best state primary school in Battersea and Clapham
The freedom to choose a state school is somewhat limited as applicants need to live within the school’s catchment area. But there may be a choice of more than one. Most Education Authorities offer the opportunity to select preferred schools, albeit from a limited list.
These schools are all among the top 2% of primary schools in the country. As I hope this note has shown, any one of them should be a preference.
| Rank | Best Battersea & Clapham primary schools | Schoolsmith Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1= | Belleville Primary School | 73 |
| 1= | Chesterton Primary School | 73 |
| 3= | Heathbrook Primary School | 72 |
| 3= | Honeywell Infant & Junior Schools | 72 |
See also the best state primary schools in Wandsworth, Balham and Streatham
Why are these the best state primary schools in Battersea and Clapham?
Schools that feature in these notes are those with the highest Schoolsmith Scores, not just in Battersea and Clapham, but nationwide. The Schoolsmith Score is an objective score that accounts for 50 different aspects of schooling, grouped into 5 broad categories. You can read more about them from the links below, and the Schoolsmith Score here.
- their achievements; academic, sporting and artistic,
- the breadth of the education they offer,
- the quality of teaching,
- their facilities,
- their look and feel.
Need more help?
By now you might be wondering what you should be thinking about when choosing a school? It happens to everyone. Why not try my 7 one minute quizzes for those starting their school search? Wood, trees, and all that…