Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School

Great Torrington Bluecoat is an inclusive Church of England primary where pupils feel safe, valued and well cared for. Relationships are warm, behaviour is good, and pupils enjoy school and attend well. Personal development and early years provision are strengths: pupils benefit from mental health support, enrichment activities and leadership roles, while children in early years get a positive start, especially in communication and phonics. The school also identifies and supports pupils with SEND well, including through its resource base, and safeguarding is effective. However, the quality of education requires improvement. In some subjects the curriculum is not sequenced clearly enough, so pupils have gaps in knowledge and do not build understanding securely over time. Curriculum checks are not rigorous enough in some subjects, and some teaching activities do not match the curriculum’s intent or deepen pupils’ knowledge. Leadership and management also require improvement because governors do not have a secure enough view of curriculum quality and do not hold leaders to account with sufficient rigour. The school has taken resolute action on attendance and parents are generally positive. It is a primary school with provision for two- and three-year-olds and a specially resourced SEND provision; the inspection was a graded inspection under section 5, and no overall effectiveness grade was given.

Strengths

• Inclusive school with warm, encouraging staff-pupil relationships
• Pupils feel safe, valued and part of the school community
• Pupils behave well in lessons and at social times
• Strong personal development, including mental health support and enrichment activities
• Early years provision gives children a positive start, particularly in communication
• Effective phonics teaching with strong Year 1 phonics screening results
• Pupils with SEND are identified well and supported effectively, including in the resource base
• Resolute action has improved pupils’ attendance
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Governors carry out their statutory duties well

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum sequencing is weak in some subjects, leaving pupils with gaps in knowledge
• Some subject curriculums are still developing and content is not covered in sufficient depth
• Leaders do not check the impact of the curriculum rigorously enough
• Some teaching activities do not match curriculum intent or help pupils connect and deepen learning
• Governors lack secure insight into curriculum quality and do not hold leaders to account rigorously enough
• Pupils underachieve because of weaknesses in the quality of education

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School attended 92.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.5% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.6% of pupils at Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School had 19.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.5% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 25.6% of pupils at Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 18 pupils.

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School received £7,466 and spent £7,968 for each of its 450 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £214,000 (-£476 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Torridge · Devon local authority: places and applications

What is Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School have?

Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School has 476 pupils on roll.

What age range does Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School cover?

Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 52% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School?

Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School is at Borough Road, Torrington, Devon, EX38 7NU.