William Murdoch Primary School
General Information
- Address: Antrobus Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, B21 9NT – View on map
- Phone: 01215540999
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mr Mangal Singh
- Age range: 3-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 42 families put it first for 44 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 267
- % eligible for free school meals: 47.8%
- Pupil mix: 8 in 10 (more mixed than the Birmingham average)
- English as an additional language: 76% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 16% a year (Birmingham 17.9%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 17% moved to another school, 83% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
- Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, 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.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across Birmingham: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 21 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 2
- Suspensions for bullying: 38 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 4 (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 Birmingham, 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: 5.5%
- Persistently absent pupils: 13.5%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 9.6%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.4%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 28 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 16 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 3 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Physical disability: 3 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2022 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 68% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 2% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 3 percentage points above the Birmingham average (65%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (3-year average 67% against an expected 60%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 67%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 78% · Writing 76% · Maths 86% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 81%
- Average test scores: reading 105, maths 107
- Based on: 85 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
Year 6 SATs: joint 109th of 264 junior and primary schools in the area
- =109Hawthorn Primary School68%
- =109Merritts Brook Primary E-ACT Academy68%
- =109William Murdoch Primary School68%
- =116Canterbury Cross Primary School67%
- =116Hawkesley Church Primary Academy67%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
179th of 199 primary schools in Birmingham for Ofsted rating
- #177Wheelers Lane Primary SchoolGood
- #178Whitehouse Common Primary SchoolGood
- #179William Murdoch Primary SchoolGood
- #180Woodcock Hill Primary SchoolGood
- #181Woodhouse Primary AcademyGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £6,852 (2024-25)
152nd of 249 primary schools in Birmingham for spending per pupil
- #150Cotteridge Primary School£6,865
- #151Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School£6,863
- #152William Murdoch Primary School£6,852
- #153The Rosary Catholic Primary School£6,851
- #154Turves Green Primary School£6,838
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)