Adelaide Primary School Review 2026: High-performing inner-city primary with strong routines and a clear curriculum

A school that talks unapologetically about effort and then backs it up with strong outcomes. Adelaide Primary sits in Newland, Hull, and serves pupils from nursery age through to Year 6. The current headteacher is Mrs Kirsten Bradley, who took up the role in September 2022, following a period of trust-wide leadership under an executive headteacher.

Results at the end of Key Stage 2 are a standout. In 2024, 82.67% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, well above the England average of 62%. That sort of gap matters, it suggests consistent teaching and good habits across subjects, not just a single strong cohort.

Day-to-day, the school’s published routines, clubs, and wraparound options read like a practical response to the needs of a busy city catchment. A free breakfast club runs from 8:00am and the school week totals 32.5 hours.

The school’s stated drivers are Respect, Equality, Effort, and they show up in how Adelaide describes behaviour, expectations, and support. What stands out most in the official picture is the strength of routines. Pupils are described as focused, responsive to instructions, and clear on what bullying is and what to do about it.

Pastoral systems look deliberately structured rather than improvised. The June 2022 inspection describes daily check-ins (including class-level emotional check-ins) and clear pathways for pupils to flag worries, with follow-up built into the process. That is important in a larger primary, where informal support alone can miss quieter children.

Leadership is also easy to map. The school publishes its senior team and specific safeguarding and wellbeing roles, including a Designated Safeguarding Lead and named wellbeing support staff. The safeguarding procedures also explain how concerns are recorded and escalated through CPOMS, which helps ensure patterns are picked up and not left to memory.

Nursery and early years are treated as a foundation for the whole school. The school’s Foundation Stage page highlights child-initiated learning supported by structured adult interactions and questioning, which usually signals a balance between play-based learning and purposeful language development.

Adelaide’s Key Stage 2 results (2024) are strong across the board:

• Expected standard (reading, writing, maths combined): 82.67%, compared with an England average of 62%.

• Higher standard (greater depth in reading, writing and maths combined): 23.67%, compared with an England average of 8%.

• Reading scaled score: 108; Maths scaled score: 107; GPS scaled score: 109.

This is not a marginal outperformance. It is the sort of profile that usually indicates well-sequenced teaching and reliable assessment, especially when the higher standard figure is nearly triple the England benchmark.

On the FindMySchool ranking (based on official data), Adelaide is ranked 2,069th in England for primary outcomes and 9th in Hull, which places it above England average and comfortably within the top quarter of schools in England. (FindMySchool ranking, proprietary methodology using official data.)

It is also worth reading the data with a practical lens. Science is the one area where Adelaide’s published figure is lower than the England average, with 78% meeting the expected standard compared with 82% in England. In a primary, that does not necessarily signal weak teaching, but it is the kind of detail parents can explore in conversations about how knowledge is revisited and secured.

For families comparing options locally, the FindMySchool Local Hub and Comparison Tool can help you see how these figures sit alongside nearby primaries using the same methodology.

The school positions its curriculum around explicit knowledge, vocabulary, and sequenced learning, and it uses its own trust-developed framework, described in the 2022 inspection as the Adelaide Curriculum Experience (ACE). The underlying point is not branding, it is coherence. A curriculum that is built across subjects and year groups tends to produce fewer gaps by Year 6.

Reading is treated as a priority, both in principle and in mechanics. The inspection notes that reading books are matched to pupils’ phonics knowledge, with additional sessions used flexibly to close specific gaps. It also records incentives that raise the profile of reading, including prizes supported by local partners.

Mathematics looks like a clear strength. The June 2022 report describes a mastery approach, with challenge built through mastery and greater depth questions, and a consistent daily retrieval starter described as Flashback 4. The school’s own curriculum content echoes this, with pupils describing a move from concrete apparatus to written methods, and the expectation that challenge does not stop once the core task is complete.

Computing and wider curriculum detail is also visible. The school describes an ambitious computing curriculum aimed at digital literacy and coding, and recent news updates show pupils collecting and analysing data with data loggers across the site. In practice, that suggests a curriculum that tries to make abstract concepts concrete, even for younger pupils.

For pupils with SEND, the inspection describes teachers planning adaptations so pupils can still reach the intended end points, with a bespoke approach for pupils working below age-related expectations in maths. That distinction matters, it signals inclusion through planning rather than lowering ambition.

As a state primary, Adelaide’s pupils move on through the usual Hull secondary admissions system rather than through an automatic linked school. Hull does use catchment areas for some addresses, and the local authority publishes detailed admissions arrangements for individual secondaries each year.

Transition planning is clearly in place, particularly for pupils with additional needs. The school’s SEND Information Report sets out a structured process that starts early for pupils with EHCPs, including parent engagement and information gathering about possible secondary settings, with practical transfer of information once places are allocated.

For parents, the key takeaway is timing. Secondary applications in Hull have fixed deadlines, and families should plan ahead in Year 5 and early Year 6, especially if considering schools with specific catchment rules or additional criteria.

Adelaide Primary is oversubscribed on the primary entry route in the most recent dataset provided: 68 applications for 46 offers, which is 1.48 applications per place. That is competitive, but not at the extreme end seen in some areas.

For Reception entry (September 2026 intake in Hull), applications are coordinated by Hull City Council. The council’s published timetable states that the online application window opens Wednesday 01 October 2025, the deadline is Thursday 15 January 2026, and offers are made on Thursday 16 April 2026.

Nursery entry works differently. Adelaide states that children may be admitted to Foundation Stage One at the start of the term following their third birthday, subject to spaces. For nursery fee details, the right place to check is the school’s own published information, as early years pricing can change and may include funded-hour arrangements depending on eligibility.

Because last-distance-offered data is not available here, the most practical approach is to focus on admissions criteria and your address evidence. If you are shortlisting schools across Hull, FindMySchoolMap Search is useful for checking precise distances where distance criteria apply, then comparing that with the local authority’s published admissions rules.

Pastoral care at Adelaide is built around visibility and reporting systems. The school publishes named safeguarding roles, including a Designated Safeguarding Lead, and its safeguarding documentation explains how concerns are logged and managed through CPOMS, covering safeguarding, behaviour, bullying, and wellbeing concerns.

The most recent Ofsted inspection in June 2022 confirmed that safeguarding arrangements are effective. Beyond the headline, the detail includes regular safeguarding updates via trust and local authority briefings and partnership working with a police community support officer to educate pupils about local risks.

Attendance is treated as a serious operational priority. The inspection notes persistent absence as a challenge but also describes structured procedures and external support to improve attendance over time.

For families, the practical implication is that Adelaide looks set up to notice and act early, rather than waiting for issues to escalate. That is often the difference between a child drifting and a child getting timely help.

The extracurricular offer is unusually specific for a primary, because the school publishes a termly club schedule with year-group targeting. Current examples include Football (Years 3 to 4 and Years 5 to 6), Film (Years 1 to 3 and Years 4 to 6), Lego clubs split by age, Cooking for older pupils, and Drama (Years 3 to 6). Choir runs for Years 2 to 6, and Netball is offered for Years 5 to 6.

This structure has a clear implication. Instead of a generic list, it suggests the school is thinking about age-appropriate access and progression, especially for activities like drama and cooking, where independence and confidence matter. It also helps working families because club patterns are predictable across the week.

Sports premium reporting shows additional activities such as gymnastics, dance, and table tennis clubs, with participation numbers and spending recorded. That is useful evidence that extracurricular opportunities are not just aspirational.

The wider enrichment programme described in the June 2022 inspection goes beyond clubs. It includes curriculum-linked visits (such as museums, places of worship, woodlands and theatres), and a structured approach to pupil leadership through jobs that pupils apply for and are interviewed for, with tokens that can be used in a prize shop. There is also a Year 5 Young Evaluators group that collects pupil views and has influenced playground changes, including chill zones and zoned resources.

The school publishes a clear timetable. Lessons start at 8:45am and the main school day ends at 3:15pm for Foundation Stage 2 through Year 6. Foundation Stage 1 runs as separate morning and afternoon sessions (8:45am to 11:45am; 12:15pm to 3:15pm). The school week is 32.5 hours.

Wraparound is straightforward. A free breakfast club starts at 8:00am, with arrival up to 8:25am. After school, wraparound care is available through The Den, priced at £9 per session, with a note that Tax-Free Childcare can reduce the effective cost for eligible families.

As with many inner-city primaries, families should plan for busy drop-off and pick-up times and check the school’s current guidance on gates and arrival routines when visiting.

• Competition for places. Recent demand data shows more applications than offers for entry, so families should treat admissions as a process rather than an assumption. A careful read of the local authority timetable is essential.

• Curriculum refinement in progress. The 2022 inspection highlights active work on tightening curriculum “sticky knowledge” and embedding consistent phonics practice after a new scheme was introduced. This is a sensible improvement focus, but parents of younger pupils may want to ask how consistency is checked across classes.

• Attendance as a live issue. Persistent absence is identified as a challenge in the most recent inspection, even alongside improving procedures. Families who already manage attendance anxieties or health issues should ask how support is coordinated day-to-day.

• Wraparound has a cost after school. Breakfast provision is free, but after-school wraparound is paid. For some households that is still good value; for others it may affect budgeting across the week.

Adelaide Primary combines strong Key Stage 2 results with clear routines, structured pastoral systems, and a curriculum that is visible in both its sequencing and its detail. It suits families who want a purposeful, organised primary where expectations are explicit and academic outcomes are a priority alongside inclusion. The main challenge is navigating admissions in a city system where demand can be high and deadlines are fixed.