The Gerrards Cross CofE School

The Gerrards Cross CofE School is a highly effective primary school with an ambitious curriculum and high expectations that pupils consistently meet. Pupils, including those with SEND, learn and remember the curriculum well. Behaviour and personal development are particular strengths: pupils are exceptionally well behaved, respectful and tolerant, and they benefit from a calm, orderly environment with strong safety education, well-being support and a wide range of enrichment opportunities. Early years provision is strong, especially in developing communication and vocabulary, and reading and mathematics are taught well. Leadership is well informed and staff feel respected and fairly treated. The school is part of a single academy trust and has a religious character. This was its first routine inspection since 2014 and the first since the COVID-19 pandemic; under current arrangements, no overall effectiveness grade was awarded. Safeguarding is effective. The main areas for improvement are writing and assessment in some foundation subjects. Writing practice is not consistently strong enough, and spelling and grammar errors are not routinely addressed, which affects some pupils’ accuracy and fluency. In some foundation subjects, teachers’ checks on understanding do not focus sharply enough on the essential subject-specific knowledge and skills, so gaps are not always identified. The school’s actions to address this are at an early stage.

Strengths

• Ambitious curriculum with clear sequencing helps pupils, including those with SEND, learn and remember well.
• Pupils are exceptionally well behaved and the school is calm, orderly and respectful.
• Personal development is a standout, with strong safety education and physical and mental health support.
• Pupils benefit from wide enrichment including GXperiences, school council, house captain roles, orchestra, choir and productions.
• Early years staff use high-quality interactions to develop children’s communication and vocabulary.
• Pupils love reading, phonics teaching is expert and targeted support helps early readers keep pace.
• Mathematics teaching builds fluency and confidence from Reception through to more complex problem-solving.
• Pupils with SEND have their needs identified quickly and are supported well.
• Staff feel respected and fairly treated, and governance is well informed.

Areas for Improvement

• Writing practice is inconsistent, so some pupils do not write with age-appropriate fluency and accuracy.
• Teachers do not routinely address spelling and grammar errors, leading to mistakes in pupils’ writing.
• Pupils do not consistently transfer the knowledge they learn in English to writing in other subjects.
• In some foundation subjects, assessment tasks do not focus on essential subject-specific skills and knowledge, so gaps are not identified.
• Actions to improve teacher expertise and assessment in foundation subjects are at an early stage, so impact is not yet evident.

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 The Gerrards Cross CofE School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.0% 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, 0.7% of pupils at The Gerrards Cross CofE 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 The Gerrards Cross CofE School had 21.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.5% 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, 10.1% of pupils at The Gerrards Cross CofE School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.1% 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 2024–25 The Gerrards Cross CofE School received £6,167 and spent £6,081 for each of its 432 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £493,000 (£1,141 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Gerrards Cross · Buckinghamshire local authority: places and applications

What is The Gerrards Cross CofE School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Gerrards Cross CofE School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was The Gerrards Cross CofE School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Gerrards Cross CofE School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does The Gerrards Cross CofE School have?

The Gerrards Cross CofE School has 434 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Gerrards Cross CofE School cover?

The Gerrards Cross CofE School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are The Gerrards Cross CofE School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 81% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The Gerrards Cross CofE School?

The Gerrards Cross CofE School is at Moreland Drive, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, SL9 8BD.