The Abbey CofE VA Primary School, Shaftesbury

Type Primary / Voluntary aided school
Age Range 4-11
Religion Church of England
Address St James's Street
St James St
Shaftesbury
Dorset
SP7 8HQ
Phone 01747852620
Reference Number 113850

The Abbey CofE VA Primary School continues to perform well, maintaining its status as a good school. The school's commitment to inclusivity, particularly for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, is commendable, and leaders have successfully fostered a positive learning environment where students feel safe and supported. The curriculum has seen improvements, especially in reading, writing, and mathematics, and extracurricular activities help cultivate well-rounded citizens.

General Makeup

Number of pupils 191
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 52.36%
Girls: 47.64%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 14.1%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 5.2%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 27.3
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 28.7
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 26.3

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 19 8 27
2 12 18 30
3 15 15 30
4 16 12 28
5 12 14 26
6 13 8 21

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 90.1%
White, Other 4.7%
White & Asian 2.1%
Unclassified 1%
Mixed, Other 1%
Chinese 0.5%

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
Last Report Date 06 Dec 2022
Date Report
06 Dec 2022 School inspection
21 Mar 2017 Short inspection
05 Jul 2012 Full inspection:
13 May 2009 Full inspection:
13 Jun 2006 Full inspection:
20 Nov 2000 Full inspection

Strengths

  • Strong focus on reading, writing, and mathematics.
  • Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
  • Diverse extracurricular activities promoting teamwork and community service.
  • Positive relationships among pupils with a supportive school environment.
  • Strong leadership and governance ensuring accountability and improvement.

Areas for Improvement

  • Some subject curriculums require further refinement to deepen pupils' knowledge.
  • Excessive time spent on testing in Year 6 hampers broader curriculum engagement.
  • Delay in supporting some Year 1 pupils to achieve reading fluency.

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 62%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 5%

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 108
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 1.3
Writing 0.6
Maths 3.3

How many students meet the standards

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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

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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.

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2025 Admissions

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 39 1
Third Preference 12 0
From another Local Authority 2 0

Previous Years

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Name Distance
Shaftesbury Church of England Primary School
Wincombe Lane, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 8PZ
0.98 miles
Port Regis Preparatory School
Motcombe Park, Shaftesbury, SP7 9QA
1.37 miles
Motcombe CofE Primary School
Church Road, Motcombe, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 9NT
1.79 miles
Ludwell Primary School
Coronation Drive, Ludwell, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 9ND
2.92 miles
St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School
Pheasant Way, Gillingham, SP8 4GG
3.15 miles
Semley Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
Semley, Semley School, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 9AU
3.33 miles
Stower Provost Community School
Woodville Stour Provost, Gillingham, Dorset, SP8 5LX
3.36 miles
St Andrew's Church of England Primary School
West Street, Fontmell Magna, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 0PF
3.55 miles
Gillingham Primary School
School Road, Gillingham, Dorset, SP8 4QR
3.98 miles
Wyke Primary School
Deane Avenue, Gillingham, Dorset, SP8 4SH
4.45 miles
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Marnhull
Old Mill Lane, Marnhull, Sturminster Newton, Dorset, DT10 1JX
4.93 miles
Name Distance
Shaftesbury School
Salisbury Road, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 8ER
0.59 miles
Coombe House School
Coombe House School, Donhead St Mary, Salisbury Road, Shaftesbury, Wiltshire, SP7 9LP
1.64 miles
Gillingham School
Hardings Lane, Gillingham, Dorset, SP8 4QP
3.81 miles
Clayesmore School
Iwerne Minster, Blandford Forum, DT11 8LL
4.87 miles
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