Belleville Primary School Review 2026: High-attaining Wandsworth primary across two sites

A large, oversubscribed Battersea primary with consistently high Key Stage 2 outcomes and a distinctive “one school, two sites” model on Webb’s Road and Meteor Street. Leadership is split between John Budden (Executive Headteacher, appointed from September 2022) and Mary-Lyne Latour (Headteacher), a structure designed to keep day-to-day standards tight across a big, complex school.

The physical set-up helps explain the feel. Webb’s Road is the larger site, a multi-storey Victorian building associated with the school’s origins; Meteor Street is a newer, single-floor site serving the same school community.

For working families, wraparound care is not an afterthought. The Belleville Beehive runs from 7.30am through to the school day, and from 3.20pm to 6.30pm after school, on both sites.

Scale is the first defining feature. Belleville operates at a size where systems matter: shared language for behaviour, clear routines, and a deliberate push for pupil leadership so that children help carry the culture. The school’s values are framed as CARE: Considerate, Articulate, Responsible, Effort. This is used explicitly across behaviour expectations and reward structures, which reduces ambiguity for pupils and parents.

The second defining feature is coherence across two sites. Practicalities such as transport links and the fact the sites are walkable from each other underpin the “one school” claim; families should still expect a large-school feel, with year-group scale and busy transitions at peak times.

A third, more recent layer is the House system, introduced in September 2023. Houses are named after local streets and run through Year 6 House Captains, with house points tied to behaviour, contribution, and effort. That matters because it gives older pupils an explicit leadership role, and it gives younger pupils a simple, visual way to understand expectations.

Nursery provision, how it shapes the early feel

Nursery is part of the Belleville pipeline, but families should be clear about one detail: a Nursery place does not create an automatic right of transfer into Reception. In practice, that means Nursery can be an excellent entry point for settling into routines and culture, but it should not be treated as a guaranteed route into the main school.

Belleville’s 2024 Key Stage 2 outcomes are exceptionally strong.

• Reading, writing and maths combined (expected standard): 90%, compared with an England average of 62%.

• Higher standard: 45%, compared with an England average of 8%.

• Average scaled scores: Reading 111, Maths 109, Grammar, punctuation and spelling 109 (a combined total of 329 across reading, maths and GPS).

This is the profile of a school that is not only getting most pupils to expected standards, but also moving a large share into higher attainment bands.

Rankings reinforce that picture. Belleville is ranked 599th in England and 5th in Wandsworth for primary outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), placing it well above England average (top 10%) in the FindMySchool percentile framing. Parents comparing options locally should use the FindMySchool Local Hub and comparison tools to line up these results against other Wandsworth primaries, because headline percentages rarely tell the whole story about cohort mix and consistency.

The school’s published curriculum approach emphasises a consistent language of learning attitudes, described as “Excellent Learners”, used from Nursery through Year 6. The practical implication is that children hear similar prompts and routines repeated across subjects and year groups, which often supports independence and reduces anxiety around transitions.

Specialist teaching is a notable feature for a state primary of this size. In particular, music is structured as a progressive programme: whole-cohort experiences sit alongside optional tuition, and there are clear routes into ensembles and performances. This matters for families who want more than the minimum curriculum entitlement without moving into the independent sector.

Belleville is unusually transparent about secondary destinations and about how the school supports families through the process.

For the September 2025 transfer cohort, the school reports:

• 50 children moved to Ark Bolingbroke Academy.

• 47 moved to other state secondaries across Wandsworth and neighbouring boroughs, including selective places via the Wandsworth Year 6 Test and places at Wilson’s Grammar School.

• 21 took up places at independent schools, with a list that includes Alleyn’s, Dulwich College, Emanuel, James Allen’s Girls’ School, and others.

The school also references structured preparation in Year 5 and Year 6 for the secondary transfer process, including meetings and workshops for families. That is helpful in a borough where some popular secondaries involve tests, supplementary forms, or complex criteria, and where the stakes can feel high.

Belleville is an academy within the Quality First Education Trust, and admissions reflect that structure. The school has two main entry points: Nursery (direct application) and Reception (local authority coordinated).

Reception entry, September 2026

Reception applications for September 2026 opened 01 September 2025 and close Thursday 15 January 2026. Offers are due on Thursday 16 April 2026 (the standard national offer date for primary).

The published admissions policy for 2026 to 2027 states an admission number of 150 for Reception in September 2026 and sets out priority order, including EHCP naming the school, looked-after children, exceptional medical or social need, siblings, children of staff, then distance. It also confirms the two-site model (Webb’s and Meteor) within the same school.

Your dataset indicates a high-demand picture, with 518 applications for 148 offers in the most recent recorded primary admissions figures and an oversubscribed status. The practical implication is straightforward: most families considering Belleville should assume competition and plan contingencies.

Nursery entry, September 2026

Children start Nursery in the academic year (September to August) in which they turn four. The closing date for September 2026 Nursery applications is Friday 06 February 2026, and applications are made directly to the school using the published form.

Choosing a site

After Reception places are offered and accepted, the school asks families to express a preference for Webb’s Road or Meteor Street, and then allocates sites using the offer order applied through the admissions criteria. This typically happens in early June.

The pastoral model is explicit about teaching emotional regulation rather than treating wellbeing as purely reactive. The school uses Zones of Regulation, positioned as a shared language to help children understand feelings and learn strategies for managing them.

Inclusion messaging is also clear: the school describes cooperative learning structures and differentiated tasks intended to support access to the curriculum across a wide attainment range. For families with additional needs, the most important next step is to read the current inclusion information and policies closely, then discuss how support would look in practice for the specific child.

Belleville is strongest when it turns scale into opportunity. A large school can either feel impersonal or it can create breadth; Belleville leans hard into breadth, particularly in music and structured clubs.

Music as a pillar

Every child in Year 4 is offered the opportunity to learn an orchestral instrument and play in an ensemble, delivered with Wandsworth Music and supported by the PTA. The instrument list is unusually broad for a primary, spanning strings, woodwind, brass, and more. The implication for pupils is that music is not reserved for children whose families can privately fund it, because there are stated supports such as bursaries or reduced lesson costs for eligible families.

By Year 6, singing becomes a major project, with the school referencing a structured “singing project” and high-profile performance venues in supporting materials. For children who thrive on performance, this can be a formative experience that builds confidence and group discipline.

Clubs with defined identities

The school runs school-based clubs on a half-termly cycle and also hosts externally run clubs. What matters is specificity: families are not choosing between generic “sport” and “arts”, they can opt into distinct strands such as Coding and Robotics, Public Speaking and Debating, Textile and Design, and German club, as well as chess and sports options.

House system and pupil leadership

House competitions and Year 6 House Captains provide additional, non-academic routes to recognition. Done well, this can be particularly valuable for pupils whose strengths sit in sport, the arts, teamwork, or community contribution rather than tests.

School day timings vary slightly by year group. Reception runs 9.00am to 3.25pm, while Years 1 to 6 run 8.50am to 3.20pm.

Wraparound care (Belleville Beehive) operates 7.30am to the start of the school day and 3.20pm to 6.30pm, on both sites.

For travel, the school highlights walkable access from Clapham Junction, Clapham Common, and Clapham South depending on site, plus local bus routes. It also flags that parking near the sites can be difficult and expensive, so most families will find walking, public transport, or scooters more realistic day to day.

• Competition for places. Recent admissions figures show far more applications than offers, so admission planning matters. Families should shortlist alternatives early and avoid relying on a single outcome.

• Two-site logistics. A two-site school can be a benefit, but it also means families should understand how site allocation works and how siblings, childcare, and commuting will function in practice.

• Nursery is not an automatic route into Reception. Nursery can be an excellent start, but it does not guarantee progression into Reception.

• Large-school feel. Belleville’s size enables breadth, but it also demands tolerance for busy year groups and structured routines. Children who prefer a very small setting may find that adjustment harder in the early years.

Belleville Primary School combines extremely strong Key Stage 2 outcomes with a breadth of opportunity that many families associate with much smaller schools or fee-paying settings. It is best suited to families who want an academically ambitious primary with structured systems, clear behaviour expectations, and a wide menu of enrichment, and who are realistic about the admissions competition in this part of Wandsworth. The limiting factor is usually entry rather than what happens once a child secures a place.