Potters Gate CofE Primary School

Potters Gate CofE Primary is a large Church of England primary school in Farnham and part of The Good Shepherd Trust. Inspectors found the school fulfilling the expected standard across achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development, with safeguarding met. Pupils are happy, safe and well cared for, and most achieve well by the end of key stage 2, especially in reading and mathematics, where published results are often in line with or above national averages. The school is inclusive, supports pupils with SEND well, and has a strong pastoral and personal-development offer. Notable strengths include positive relationships and behaviour, effective reading and mathematics teaching, thoughtful SEND and wellbeing support, and strong governance and parental engagement. Early years provision uses poetry, stories and nature well to build language and confidence. However, writing is not implemented consistently across year groups or in early years, and some disadvantaged pupils do not achieve as securely as they could. Published disadvantaged-pupil outcomes are below national averages in several measures, and the impact of pupil premium is not yet as effective as leaders intend. Leaders know the school's priorities and have begun sharpening improvement actions, but training and improvement priorities are not yet clearly linked to the school's key challenges, particularly writing and disadvantaged pupils. Pupils' knowledge in some personal, social, health and citizenship content and religious education is not consistently secure. Overall, this is a caring and effective school with clear, focused next steps rather than widespread failure.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel safe and behave well, with positive relationships and clear routines.
• Reading and mathematics achievement is strong, with published results often at or above national averages.
• Teaching is inclusive and pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported effectively.
• Early years uses poetry, stories and nature to build children's language and confidence.
• Pastoral care and personal development are strong, including the JEDI programme and mental health support.
• Governance and trust oversight are effective, and staff wellbeing is well supported.
• Parents are overwhelmingly positive and the school has a harmonious, inclusive community.
• Attendance is generally in line with national averages and leaders monitor it well.
• Bullying is rare and harassment or discrimination is dealt with appropriately.
• Pupils have rich sports, arts and enrichment opportunities, including clubs open to all.

Areas for Improvement

• Writing curriculum is not implemented consistently across year groups, including early years.
• Some disadvantaged pupils achieve less securely and disadvantaged-pupil outcomes are below national averages in several measures.
• Pupil premium funding does not yet have as strong an impact on disadvantaged pupils' learning as it could.
• Curriculum implementation is not consistently strong across all year groups and subjects.
• Some activity choices are not precisely matched to pupils' starting points, limiting how well some pupils build on prior learning.
• Training and school improvement priorities are not clearly linked to the school's key challenges.
• Pupils' knowledge across personal, social, health and citizenship education is not consistently secure and detailed.
• Pupils are not always confident or able to remember what religious education lessons teach and why it matters.
• Behaviour is occasionally less focused where teaching is less effective.

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 Potters Gate CofE Primary School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.8% 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 Potters Gate CofE 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 Potters Gate CofE Primary School had 19.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.3% 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, 8.6% of pupils at Potters Gate CofE Primary School 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 Potters Gate CofE Primary School received £7,227 and spent £7,226 for each of its 542 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £268,000 (£495 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of The Good Shepherd Trust, income was £7,677 and spending £7,643 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 Farnham · Surrey local authority: places and applications

Potters Gate CofE Primary School is part of The Good Shepherd Trust, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• St Andrew's Church of England Infant School Farnham
• Waverley Abbey CofE Junior School Farnham
• Walsh CofE Junior School Ash
• Walsh CofE Infant School Ash
• Puttenham CofE Infant School Guildford
• The Holme Church of England Primary School Headley
• Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School Farnborough
• St Mark and All Saints Church of England Primary Godalming
• Queen Eleanor's Church of England School Guildford
• Christ's College, Guildford Guildford

What is Potters Gate CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Potters Gate CofE Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Potters Gate CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Potters Gate CofE Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Potters Gate CofE Primary School have?

Potters Gate CofE Primary School has 535 pupils on roll.

What age range does Potters Gate CofE Primary School cover?

Potters Gate CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Potters Gate CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

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

Where is Potters Gate CofE Primary School?

Potters Gate CofE Primary School is at Potters Gate, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7BB.