Tollgate Primary School

Tollgate Primary School is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating in all areas evaluated by Ofsted. The school fosters a positive environment where pupils feel safe and valued, contributing to their happiness and academic engagement. The curriculum is ambitious, and staff effectively support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, ensuring that all students are offered opportunities to succeed. However, there is a noted concern regarding the subject knowledge of some teachers, which can affect the depth of pupils' understanding in specific subjects.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, well cared for, and learn well.
• The school has an ambitious and wide-ranging curriculum.
• Staff provide effective support for pupils with SEND.
• Early years education is strong, fostering vocabulary growth and confidence.
• Pupils engage in various extracurricular activities, including music and community service.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers lack sufficient subject knowledge, impacting pupils' understanding.

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 Tollgate Primary School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.3% 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, 2.1% of pupils at Tollgate 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 Tollgate Primary School had 20.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.9% 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, 18.8% of pupils at Tollgate Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.4% 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 Tollgate Primary School received £6,852 and spent £6,908 for each of its 416 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £127,000 (£305 per pupil).

Across all 39 schools of Unity Schools Partnership, income was £8,494 and spending £8,500 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 Bury St Edmunds · Suffolk local authority: places and applications

Tollgate Primary School is part of Unity Schools Partnership, which runs 40 schools. The nearest others:

• Bury St Edmunds County High School Bury St Edmunds
• Abbots Green Primary Academy Bury St Edmunds
• Sir Peter Hall School Bury St. Edmunds
• Sybil Andrews Academy Bury St. Edmunds
• Wickhambrook Primary Academy Newmarket
• Glemsford Primary Academy Sudbury
• West Row Academy Bury St. Edmunds
• Ditton Lodge Primary School Newmarket
• Newmarket Academy Newmarket
• Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy Newmarket

What is Tollgate Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Tollgate Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was Tollgate Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Tollgate Primary School was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does Tollgate Primary School have?

Tollgate Primary School has 437 pupils on roll.

What age range does Tollgate Primary School cover?

Tollgate Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Tollgate Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Tollgate Primary School?

Tollgate Primary School is at Tollgate Lane, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP32 6DG.