Columbia Primary School

Tower Hamlets · E2 7RG

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 416 pupils, 24.5% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 27.2% on SEN support Behaviour 7.1% absence rate Staff 7.1% turnover Financials £454 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

We haven't asked this school for its behaviour and staffing figures yet. Sign up to tell us you'd like them, and we'll email you when they arrive.

Notify me

Your email address

Leave this empty

We'll email you a link to confirm first. Your address is only used for news about this school, and every email has a link to stop them. Privacy

Columbia Primary School

General Information

Address: Columbia Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 7RG – View on map
Phone: 02077393835
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Oliver Woodward
Age range: 3-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 43 families put it first for 48 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 9 of the 48 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2025 9 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

416 pupils out of 450 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 98
% eligible for free school meals: 24.5%
Pupil mix: 8 in 10 (more mixed than the Tower Hamlets average)
English as an additional language: 44% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 7.1% a year (Tower Hamlets 17.2%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 0% moved to another school, 100% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (one year, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Tower Hamlets: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 2 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 3 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Tower Hamlets, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 7.1%
Persistently absent pupils: 22.6%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 27.2%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.8%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 72 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 35 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Physical disability: 1 pupil
Vision impairment: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 9 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 5 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
Severe learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Physical disability: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

Be the first to review — win £100 of books for your school Every honest review enters you into our prize draw

Behaviour

–

Openness

–

Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

–

Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

–

Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 81% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 19% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 12 percentage points above the Tower Hamlets average (69%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (3-year average 86% against an expected 60%)
3-year average (expected standard): 86%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 89% · Writing 85% · Maths 93% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 85%
Average test scores: reading 111, maths 109
Based on: 54 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolTower Hamlets averageEngland↘ Falling Down 5 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 12 percentage points above the Tower Hamlets average (69%).

Year 6 SATs: 6th of 61 junior and primary schools in the area

=3Stewart Headlam Primary School83%
=3William Davis Primary School83%
#6Columbia Primary School81%
=7Globe Primary School80%
=7Mayflower Primary School80%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Bigland Green Primary School87%
#2Canary Wharf College, Glenworth85%
=3St Peter's London Docks CofE Primary School83%
=3Stewart Headlam Primary School83%
=3William Davis Primary School83%
#6Columbia Primary School81%
=7Globe Primary School80%
=7Mayflower Primary School80%
=7The Clara Grant Primary School80%
=10Bygrove Primary School79%
=10Canary Wharf College, East Ferry79%
=10Hague Primary School79%
=13Osmani Primary School78%
=13Solebay Primary - A Paradigm Academy78%
=15Bangabandhu Primary School77%
=15Hermitage Primary School77%
=15Manorfield Primary School77%
=15Stebon Primary School77%
=15Stepney Park Primary School77%
=20Blue Gate Fields Junior School76%
=20St Mary and St Michael Primary School76%
#22Old Palace Primary School75%
=23Culloden Primary - A Paradigm Academy74%
=23Sir William Burrough Primary School74%
#25St Agnes RC Primary School73%
=26Ben Jonson Primary School72%
=26John Scurr Primary School72%
=26Mowlem Primary School72%
=26St Paul's Whitechapel Church of England Primary School72%
=30Christ Church CofE School71%
=30Lansbury Lawrence Primary School71%
=30Thomas Buxton Primary School71%
=30Wellington Primary School71%
=30Woolmore Primary School71%
=35Cayley Primary School70%
=35Kobi Nazrul Primary School70%
=35Lawdale Junior School70%
=38Marner Primary School69%
=38St Edmund's Catholic School69%
#40Halley Primary School68%
#41Malmesbury Primary School67%
#42St Paul's Way Trust School66%
=43Bonner Primary School65%
=43Cyril Jackson Primary School65%
=43Old Ford Primary - A Paradigm Academy65%
=46Marion Richardson Primary School64%
=46St John's Church of England Primary School64%
=46St Luke's Church of England Primary School64%
=46St Saviour's Church of England Primary School64%
=50Cubitt Town Primary School63%
=50English Martyrs Roman Catholic Primary School63%
=50Harbinger Primary School63%
=53Olga Primary School62%
=53Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Primary School62%
=55Chisenhale Primary School61%
=55Stepney Greencoat Church of England Primary School61%
=57Arnhem Wharf Primary School60%
=57Harry Gosling Primary School60%
#59Mulberry Canon Barnett Primary Academy59%
#60St Paul With St Luke CofE Primary Federation57%
#61Seven Mills Primary School55%

View full Ofsted inspection report

28th of 53 primary schools in Tower Hamlets for Ofsted rating

#26Chisenhale Primary SchoolGood
#27Christ Church CofE SchoolGood
#28Columbia Primary SchoolGood
#29English Martyrs Roman Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#30Hague Primary SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Bigland Green Primary SchoolOutstanding
#2Bygrove Primary SchoolOutstanding
#3Canary Wharf College, GlenworthOutstanding
#4Globe Primary SchoolOutstanding
#5Lansbury Lawrence Primary SchoolOutstanding
#6Marion Richardson Primary SchoolOutstanding
#7Mayflower Primary SchoolOutstanding
#8Mowlem Primary SchoolOutstanding
#9Old Ford Primary - A Paradigm AcademyOutstanding
#10Solebay Primary - A Paradigm AcademyOutstanding
#11St Agnes RC Primary SchoolOutstanding
#12St Peter's London Docks CofE Primary SchoolOutstanding
#13St Saviour's Church of England Primary SchoolOutstanding
#14Stebon Primary SchoolOutstanding
#15Stewart Headlam Primary SchoolOutstanding
#16Thomas Buxton Primary SchoolOutstanding
#17Virginia Primary SchoolOutstanding
#18Wellington Primary SchoolOutstanding
#19Woolmore Primary SchoolOutstanding
#20Arnhem Wharf Primary SchoolGood
#21Bangabandhu Primary SchoolGood
#22Ben Jonson Primary SchoolGood
#23Bonner Primary SchoolGood
#24Canary Wharf College, East FerryGood
#25Cayley Primary SchoolGood
#26Chisenhale Primary SchoolGood
#27Christ Church CofE SchoolGood
#28Columbia Primary SchoolGood
#29English Martyrs Roman Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#30Hague Primary SchoolGood
#31Halley Primary SchoolGood
#32Harbinger Primary SchoolGood
#33Harry Gosling Primary SchoolGood
#34John Scurr Primary SchoolGood
#35Kobi Nazrul Primary SchoolGood
#36Malmesbury Primary SchoolGood
#37Manorfield Primary SchoolGood
#38Marner Primary SchoolGood
#39Old Palace Primary SchoolGood
#40Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#41Seven Mills Primary SchoolGood
#42St Anne's and Guardian Angels Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#43St Edmund's Catholic SchoolGood
#44St Elizabeth Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#45St Luke's Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#46St Mary and St Michael Primary SchoolGood
#47St Paul With St Luke CofE Primary FederationGood
#48St Paul's Whitechapel Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#49Stepney Greencoat Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#50Stepney Park Primary SchoolGood
#51The Clara Grant Primary SchoolGood
#52William Davis Primary SchoolGood
#53Hermitage Primary SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £454 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

58th of 61 primary schools in Tower Hamlets for spending per pupil

#56Canary Wharf College, East Ferry£8,147
#57Hermitage Primary School£605
#58Columbia Primary School£454
#59Stebon Primary School£337
#60Bygrove Primary School£299

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Bangabandhu Primary School£12,402
#2Stewart Headlam Primary School£11,428
#3William Davis Primary School£11,400
#4Arnhem Wharf Primary School£11,225
#5St Saviour's Church of England Primary School£11,212
#6Seven Mills Primary School£11,153
#7Harbinger Primary School£10,863
#8Mulberry Canon Barnett Primary Academy£10,700
#9Cayley Primary School£10,672
#10Christ Church CofE School£10,631
#11St Paul With St Luke CofE Primary Federation£10,543
#12Olga Primary School£10,480
#13Cyril Jackson Primary School£10,476
#14Marion Richardson Primary School£10,306
#15Globe Primary School£10,252
#16Lansbury Lawrence Primary School£10,212
#17Chisenhale Primary School£10,196
#18St Edmund's Catholic School£10,154
#19Thomas Buxton Primary School£10,022
#20Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Primary School£10,019
#21Manorfield Primary School£10,015
#22Mowlem Primary School£9,959
#23English Martyrs Roman Catholic Primary School£9,861
#24Kobi Nazrul Primary School£9,850
#25Ben Jonson Primary School£9,803
#26Cubitt Town Primary School£9,769
#27Mayflower Primary School£9,756
#28Hague Primary School£9,708
#29Bonner Primary School£9,692
#30Mulberry Wood Wharf Primary School£9,674
#31Wellington Primary School£9,640
#32Osmani Primary School£9,598
#33Marner Primary School£9,565
#34Solebay Primary - A Paradigm Academy£9,553
#35Malmesbury Primary School£9,523
#36Halley Primary School£9,517
#37St Luke's Church of England Primary School£9,509
#38Sir William Burrough Primary School£9,470
#39Culloden Primary - A Paradigm Academy£9,469
#40St Peter's London Docks CofE Primary School£9,467
#41St Mary and St Michael Primary School£9,462
#42Stepney Park Primary School£9,400
#43Woolmore Primary School£9,381
#44Old Palace Primary School£9,150
#45St Paul's Whitechapel Church of England Primary School£9,073
#46Old Ford Primary - A Paradigm Academy£9,024
#47St Anne's and Guardian Angels Catholic Primary School£9,000
#48Harry Gosling Primary School£8,971
#49Bigland Green Primary School£8,920
#50John Scurr Primary School£8,894
#51Stepney Greencoat Church of England Primary School£8,848
#52St John's Church of England Primary School£8,813
#53The Clara Grant Primary School£8,804
#54St Agnes RC Primary School£8,749
#55Canary Wharf College, Glenworth£8,424
#56Canary Wharf College, East Ferry£8,147
#57Hermitage Primary School£605
#58Columbia Primary School£454
#59Stebon Primary School£337
#60Bygrove Primary School£299
#61Virginia Primary School£28

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

Have you rated Columbia Primary School yet? Your experience helps other parents.

Rate this school