Today’s school review is by a local mum of two children, one aged 8 who is in year 3 and the other aged 11 who is in year 6. Both children attend Bishop Road Primary School, an ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted rated school which is situated on Bishop Road, Bishopston, BS7 8LS.

Was Bishop Road Primary School your first choice of school and if so, why?

This was my first choice of school, because it was nearest to my house, it had a very good reputation, if it had not I would not have made it my first choice.

What qualities and advantages do you feel Bishop Road primary has over other local primary schools?

It has lots of lovely up to date enthusiastic teachers. In the upper years they set for maths which is appropriate. There are some truly amazing teaching assistants. Each class puts on excellent class performances twice a year. The PTFA are very organized, the school places a huge emphasis on reading and writing, there are lots of male teachers (!) and specialist PE teachers (but my children hate PE).

I have found that if I target my requests for support for my son then support has been excellent, being polite and reasonable is respected. The SATS grades are above average but the new national curriculum has not been examined yet, that happens this year.

What (if any) are the weaknesses of this school?

Weaknesses is a tricky one. If I am honest staff turnover seems high, certainly it has distressed my children when nice teachers have left. I would like to see periods of choosing time in all years as a part of the week. Since the recent introduction of the new National Curriculum I would recommend that any prospective parents talk to those with children in reception now from a range of local schools. That is me being honest but selective in my response. I would probably discuss more details with you in person!

What do you think of the school building, facilities and size of this school?

It is a huge school and will have about 820 pupils at maximum capacity. My children have never had a problem with the number of children. There is a lovely library, outdoor space could be more interesting. The school field is fab as is the new building adjacent to it. Classrooms are not huge, it is an old building.

What do you think of the staff at Bishop Road Primary School?

Most of the teachers have been awesome, the office staff are helpful, and my interactions with the management team have been interesting and cannot be discussed here. Teachers have listened to my concerns and especially in the last two years have been superb. We do have our favourites.

What are the school’s values?

I do not know the schools values, maybe reading is really important, performing on stage is good for you, respect among teachers and pupils is expected.

Do children receive homework, reading or tasks to do at home?

There is a lot of homework as the years go on, 5 and 6 especially, spelling, multiplications tables, maths, English, reading out loud. Some art type homework is set now and again.

Is there anything else which you would like to add?

I think anyone applying needs to talk to a range of people as parents want differing things for their children. This school has many high achieving children, it is totally different to the market town school my sister’s children attend and they have chickens and a Xmas Factor Christmas show. Maybe a bit more fun at school wouldn’t go amiss, more teamwork/group work and creative/art stuff.

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If you would be happy to answer a few questions via email for a primary or secondary school review for Bishopston Mum, please email me on bristol_mum@hotmail.com. All reviews will be anonymous.

For more information and reviews of local primary and secondary schools, as well as pre-schools, please visit the Bishopston Mum Local Education page.