St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School

St Mary’s Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School is a welcoming and supportive environment where pupils, parents, and staff feel valued. The school has established strong connections with the local community and offers a broad range of enriching activities that engage pupils. With effective leadership, the school provides a quality education, particularly strong in reading, writing, and mathematics, preparing pupils well for future stages in their education. However, some areas of the curriculum, specifically in history, science, and religious education, need further development to enhance pupils' overall learning experience.

Strengths

• Supportive and caring school environment
• Effective leadership and management
• Strong focus on teaching reading, writing, and mathematics
• Pupils are enthusiastic and engaged in learning
• Good relationships between staff and pupils
• Involvement in community activities

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum development needed in history, science, and religious education
• Some support for pupils with SEND is not well planned

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 St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.5% 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, 1.1% of pupils at St Mary's Voluntary Controlled 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 St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School had 26.4 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

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, 8.0% of pupils at St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

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 St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School received £6,413 and spent £6,409 for each of its 458 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £546,000 (£1,194 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 Bridgwater · Somerset local authority: places and applications

What is St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School have?

St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School has 490 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School cover?

St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School?

St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School is at Oakfield Road, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA6 7LX.