Secondary applications close 31 October – compare your shortlist now

Parracombe Church of England Primary School

Primary Ages 4-11 37 pupils Barnstaple
Ofsted: Good
All schools in Barnstaple

Parracombe Church of England Primary School is a voluntary controlled school in Barnstaple for pupils aged 4 to 11. It has a Church of England religious character. It has 37 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Parracombe Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2023. In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Ofsted inspection: May 2023. KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Voluntary controlled school
Age Range 4-11
Religion Church of England
Address Church Lane
Parracombe
Barnstaple
Devon
EX31 4QJ
Phone 01598763338
Reference Number 113382

General Makeup

Number of pupils 37
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 48.65%
Girls: 51.35%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 32.4%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 2.7%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 9.3
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 9.5
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 9

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 2 4 6
2 7 1 8
3 2 2 4
4 2 1 3
5 1 7 8
6 2 1 3

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 94.6%
Unclassified 5.4%

Parracombe Church of England Primary School has maintained its status as a good school, demonstrating strong performance across various domains. The pupils are described as friendly and respectful, benefiting from a well-structured curriculum that emphasizes critical areas like reading and mathematics. Parents express positive views about the education and pastoral support their children receive, and pupils feel safe and nurtured within the school environment.

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
Last Report Date 22 Mar 2023
Date Report
22 Mar 2023 School inspection
09 Nov 2016 Full inspection:
27 Jan 2015 Monitoring visit
24 Sep 2014 Full inspection:
18 Jan 2011 Full inspection:
12 Jun 2008 Full inspection:
17 May 2004 Full inspection

Strengths

  • Pupils are friendly, polite, and helpful towards each other.
  • The curriculum is well-structured in many areas, particularly in early reading and mathematics.
  • Teachers have good subject knowledge and effectively support pupil learning.
  • Strong emphasis on reading across all year groups helps develop pupils' language skills.
  • Pupils with SEND receive tailored support to succeed in their learning.
  • Pupils have opportunities to take on responsibilities and support local charities.

Areas for Improvement

  • Curriculum planning in some subjects does not support extending pupils' knowledge effectively.

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 75%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 0%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 105
Maths 106

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 3.5
Writing 1.8
Maths -0.1

How many students meet the standards

Sample

Unlock

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Sample

Unlock

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Sample

Unlock
Unlock Premium

See how Parracombe Church of England Primary School ranks locally and nationally. Percentile rankings against every other school, historic result charts, admissions data and post-GCSE destinations are all included.

£9.99 one-off payment. Lifetime access, no subscription.

Unlock for £9.99

Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 0 0
Third Preference 0 0
From another Local Authority 0 0

Previous years

Sample

Unlock

Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Parracombe Church of England Primary School had 41 pupils for 55 places. 14 places (25.5%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Ilfracombe rural Primary” planning area

Devon counted 42 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 38 in 2029–30, down 10%.

201020112012201320142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Places 565656565655555555555555555555
Pupils 272522222218212738353741424141
Unfilled 51.8%55.4%60.7%60.7%60.7%67.3%61.8%50.9%30.9%36.4%32.7%25.5%23.6%25.5%25.5%

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 Parracombe Church of England Primary School attended 96.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.7% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

20172018201920212022202320242025
Authorised absence 4.2%5.7%2.7%2.7%3.3%4.1%2.9%2.8%
Unauthorised absence 0.4%0.9%0.9%1.0%0.3%0.6%0.6%0.4%
Severely absent pupils 0.0%0.0%5.7%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%

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, 0.0% of pupils at Parracombe Church of England Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

20102011201220132014201720182019202020212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 3.40.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0
Permanent exclusions 00000000000000

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 Parracombe Church of England Primary School had 16.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

20112012201320142017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 4.67.26.69.57.87.15.89.17.69.98.27.68.77.2
Teachers who left state teaching 29.4%0.0%22.2%40.0%0.0%50.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%50.0%0.0%0.0%–
Teachers who took any sick leave ––60.0%–––––––––––
Sick days per teacher ––2.4–––––––––––

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, 16.2% of pupils at Parracombe Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Social, emotional and mental health 2 0
Speech, language and communication needs 2 0
Moderate learning difficulty 1 0
Other difficulty or disability 1 0

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.

Name Distance
Kentisbury Primary School
Kentisbury, Barnstaple, Devon, EX31 4NG
3.28 miles
Lynton Church of England Primary School
Market Street, Lynton, Devon, EX35 6AF
4.11 miles
Bratton Fleming Community Primary School
Station Road, Bratton Fleming, Station Road, Barnstaple, Devon, EX31 4SB
4.73 miles
Name Distance

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

What is Parracombe Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Parracombe Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was Parracombe Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Parracombe Church of England Primary School was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does Parracombe Church of England Primary School have?

Parracombe Church of England Primary School has 37 pupils on roll.

What age range does Parracombe Church of England Primary School cover?

Parracombe Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Parracombe Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Parracombe Church of England Primary School?

Parracombe Church of England Primary School is at Church Lane, Parracombe, Barnstaple, Devon, EX31 4QJ.

Filters

Basics

Age Range

Special Schools

Independent Schools

Faith Schools

Key Stage 2 Attainment

Students Meeting expected standard

Unlock Premium to filter by results - £9.99 one-off, lifetime access.

Unlock for £9.99

Students Meeting higher standard

Unlock Premium to filter by results - £9.99 one-off, lifetime access.

Unlock for £9.99

GCSE Attainment

Attainment 8 score percentile

Unlock Premium to filter by results - £9.99 one-off, lifetime access.

Unlock for £9.99

Students getting 5 or more GCSE's at grade 9-4 (A-C)

Unlock Premium to filter by results - £9.99 one-off, lifetime access.

Unlock for £9.99