St George's CofE Primary Academy

St George's CofE Primary Academy is a small, inclusive Church of England primary school in Plymouth, part of St Christopher's CofE (Primary) Multi-Academy Trust. Inspectors found the school performing securely overall, with early years provision standing out as a strong area and safeguarding requirements met. Pupils feel safe, behave well and benefit from a calm, respectful environment; there have been no suspensions or permanent exclusions for an extended period. The school's curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced, with reading given high priority and phonics taught consistently. Inclusion is a clear strength: pupils with SEND are identified early, supported effectively and included in school life. Leadership, governance, staff morale and the wider personal development offer are also strong, and pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment activities. However, mathematics attainment at the end of key stage 2, particularly at the higher standard, is below national averages, with disadvantaged pupils and late joiners facing the biggest gaps. Persistent absence remains above national averages, and term-time holidays are too common. Assessment is not yet consistently used to match learning precisely to pupils' needs in all subjects, and pupils' understanding of fundamental British values is not as secure as it should be. Leaders are aware of these priorities and are working with the trust to address them.

Strengths

• Highly effective early years provision aligned to an ambitious Reception curriculum.
• Strong phonics teaching and secure early reading, writing and mathematics foundations.
• Inclusive practice with individualised SEND support that reduces barriers to learning.
• Calm, orderly and respectful school environment with positive pupil behaviour.
• No suspensions or permanent exclusions for an extended period.
• Coherent, ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum across subjects.
• Reading prioritised effectively, with materials closely matched to pupils' phonics knowledge.
• Effective leadership and governance with a clear vision centred on inclusion and wellbeing.
• Strong staff morale, wellbeing and professional development, including subject leader growth.
• Rich personal development and enrichment offer, including leadership roles and cultural experiences.
• Early and accurate SEND identification with effective parent and external professional partnerships.
• Safeguarding standards met, with pupils feeling safe and supported.
• Overall attendance in line with national averages and improving over two years.

Areas for Improvement

• Mathematics attainment at the end of key stage 2, including higher standard, is below national averages.
• Disadvantaged pupils' mathematics outcomes are well below national averages, with a large gap.
• Pupils joining late in key stage 2 have gaps and do not benefit from the school's early curriculum work.
• Inconsistent use of teacher assessment checks means learning is not always precisely matched to pupils' needs.
• In a few subjects, the choice of learning activity limits the depth of pupils' learning.
• Persistent absence is above national averages, including for a small but notable minority of disadvantaged pupils.
• Term-time holidays remain too frequent.
• Pupils' understanding of fundamental British values is not consistently developed or secure.
• Communication and early-help approaches with parents need strengthening, particularly around attendance.

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 George's CofE Primary Academy attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.2% 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, 0.0% of pupils at St George's CofE Primary Academy 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 George's CofE Primary Academy had 16.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.8% 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, 12.8% of pupils at St George's CofE Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.1% 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 St George's CofE Primary Academy received £8,402 and spent £7,921 for each of its 95 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £35,000 (£370 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of St Christopher'S C of E (Primary) Multi Academy Trust, income was £6,883 and spending £7,074 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 Plymouth · Plymouth local authority: places and applications

St George's CofE Primary Academy is part of St Christopher'S C of E (Primary) Multi Academy Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• St Peter's CofE Primary School Plymouth
• St Edward's CofE Primary School Plymouth
• St Matthew's Church of England Primary and Nursery Academy Plymouth
• St Mary's Priory CofE Infant & Nursery School Plymouth
• St Mary's Priory Junior School Plymouth
• Meavy Church of England Primary School Yelverton
• Lady Modiford's Church of England Primary School Yelverton
• St Peter's Church of England Junior School Tavistock
• St Rumon's Church of England Infants School Tavistock
• Upton St James CofE Primary School Torquay

What is St George's CofE Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St George's CofE Primary Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was St George's CofE Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St George's CofE Primary Academy was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does St George's CofE Primary Academy have?

St George's CofE Primary Academy has 94 pupils on roll.

What age range does St George's CofE Primary Academy cover?

St George's CofE Primary Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St George's CofE Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St George's CofE Primary Academy?

St George's CofE Primary Academy is at Admiralty Street, Stonehouse, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 3RX.