Primary school in Lowestoft, Suffolk
Poplars Community Primary School
St Margaret's Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR32 4HN
Ofsted
Graded Requires improvement at its last graded inspection, on 21 November 2023.
Ofsted stopped awarding single-word overall grades in September 2024. This grade is 2 years old and will not be updated — the school keeps it until its next inspection, which will not produce a replacement grade.
Key stage 2 results 2024/25
Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Reached the higher standard
Average reading score
Average maths score
On the headline measure this school is in the top quarter of state-funded primaries in England.
Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is most disadvantaged, which is where this one sits, it is in the top 10%.
There are no progress measures for primary schools any more. They were calculated from a key stage 1 baseline, and statutory key stage 1 tests ended in 2023, so nothing has been published since. That makes attainment the only official measure — and attainment tracks intake closely, which is why the comparison against similar schools above is the more useful of the two lines.
Pupils
- Pupils on roll
- 260
- Places
- 598
- How full
- 43% full — 260 of 598 places taken, so places are likely to be available
- Girls / boys
- 120 / 140
- Overall absence
- 3%
- Persistently absent
- 4%
primary schools average 5.2%
primary schools average 12.8% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions
- Free school meals, last 6 years
- 53%
- English as an additional language
- 5%
- With an EHC plan
- 4%
- On SEN support
- 23%
England 25.7%
England 18.7%
England 3.5%
England 15%
The neighbourhood around the school
Census 2021 figures for East Suffolk 002B, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.
- Adults with a degree
- 18%
- Adults with no qualifications
- 24%
- Households owning their home
- 52%
- Households in social housing
- 28%
- Households with no car
- 29%
- Adults economically inactive
- 47%
England 33.8%
England 18.3%
England 62.7%
England 17%
England 21.9%
England 39.9%
School details
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- Ages 3–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- Yes
- Boarding
- Day school
- Trust
- EVOLUTION ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Headteacher: Ashley Cunningham
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Ward
- Harbour & Normanston
- Constituency
- Lowestoft
- URN
- 145541
The unique reference number used in all official school data.
Nearest primary schools
| School | Ofsted | Expected standard | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northfield St Nicholas Primary AcademyAcademy sponsor led | Good 2022 | 67% | 0.1 mi |
| St Margaret's Primary AcademyAcademy sponsor led | No grade | 51% | 0.2 mi |
| Roman Hill Primary SchoolAcademy sponsor led | No grade | 33% | 0.6 mi |
| Gunton Primary AcademyAcademy sponsor led | Good 2024 | 71% | 0.9 mi |
| Woods Loke Primary SchoolAcademy converter | Outstanding 2024 | 75% | 0.9 mi |
| Red Oak Primary SchoolAcademy sponsor led | Good 2023 | 88% | 1.5 mi |
| The Limes Primary AcademyFree schools | Good 2023 | 64% | 1.5 mi |
| Phoenix St Peter AcademyAcademy sponsor led | No grade | 58% | 1.6 mi |
Schools with a similar intake
State-funded primary schools nationally whose share of disadvantaged pupils is closest to this school's. This is the fairest like-for-like comparison the published data supports.
| School | Ofsted | Expected standard |
|---|---|---|
| Torriano Primary SchoolCommunity school | Outstanding 2024 | 81% |
| Morden Mount Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2023 | 83% |
| Linton Mead Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2022 | 63% |
| Southwold Primary SchoolCommunity school | No grade | 91% |
| Kingswood Primary SchoolCommunity school | No grade | 66% |
| Globe Primary SchoolCommunity school | Outstanding 2024 | 80% |
| Essendine Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2023 | 84% |
| The Stonebridge SchoolCommunity school | Requires improvement 2023 | 49% |
Where these figures come from
- School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
- Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25.
- Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
- Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
- Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.
All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.