When should a child begin to train, and why the old fear was wrong
Most parents think lifting weights is dangerous for children. Twenty years of paediatric consensus disagree, and the reason has more to do with the nervous system than with muscle.
Wallingford · Oxfordshire
Dorchester St Birinus Church of England School
Voluntary controlled school · ages 4–11 · 75 pupils · Church of England
8% free school meals 38% English as an additional language (Year 6) 50% SEN support (Year 6)
Year 6 results
Reading, writing and maths
Share of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/25.
| Year | School | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 57% | 60% | 60% |
| 2023/24 | 31% | 61% | 61% |
| 2024/25 | 38% | 63% | 63% |
| 3-year average | 39% |
8 pupils took the tests in 2025, so each child moves the school's result by about 13 percentage points. Results in small schools swing from year to year; the three-year average is steadier.
Average scaled scores in 2025: reading 102, maths 97 (100 is the expected standard). Higher standard in reading, writing and maths: 0%.
There are no results for 2019/20 or 2020/21, when the tests were cancelled. What do SATs scores mean?
Inspection
What Ofsted found
Most recent inspection, published 20/05/2025: Some aspects not as strong.
This was a shorter check that confirms an earlier grade rather than giving a new one. Ofsted moved to report cards in November 2025.
The local area
Children in Oxfordshire
| Measure | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good level of development at the end of Reception 2024/25 higher | 70.4% | 68.3% |
| Phonics check met in Year 1 2024/25 lower | 77.6% | 79.8% |
| Year 6 children living with obesity 2024/25 lower | 17.8% | 22.2% |
| MMR two doses by age 5 2024/25 higher | 91.0% | 83.7% |
| Primary pupils persistently absent 2024/25 lower | 11.9% | 13.0% |
| Children in relative low-income families (under 16) 2024/25 lower | 10.4% | 19.8% |
“Higher” or “lower” means the difference from England is bigger than the margin of error; “similar” means it isn’t. These are figures for all children in the council area, not for any one school or child.