Lambourn CofE Primary School

Lambourn CofE Primary School is a village primary academy within Excalibur Academies Trust, and inspectors found it to be a strong school overall. Following a previous Requires improvement judgement, the school now shows good quality of education, leadership and management, and early years provision, with behaviour and attitudes and personal development judged outstanding. Pupils are described as safe, very happy and exceptionally well behaved, and they model the school's values of love, integrity, grit, hope and trust. Staff have high expectations and an ambitious curriculum. Reading is now a strength: phonics is taught systematically and pupils who fall behind catch up quickly. Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported expertly, including through work with specialists, and children get a strong start in the early years. Pupils attend regularly, benefit from an exceptional range of extra-curricular opportunities and strong pastoral care, and are exceptionally well prepared for secondary school by the end of key stage 2. The main area for improvement is assessment in some wider curriculum subjects. In these subjects, staff do not always check what pupils know well enough or adapt lessons precisely, so a small number of pupils do not build on prior knowledge as effectively as they could. This is particularly noted in art and design. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and trustees and governors support the school well.

Strengths

• Pupils model the school's values exceptionally well and feel safe and very happy.
• Behaviour is impeccable, with clear routines and high expectations.
• The curriculum is ambitious and identifies precise knowledge and skills.
• Reading is a strength, supported by systematic phonics and effective catch-up help.
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported expertly, including with specialist services.
• Children make a strong start in the early years through positive relationships and thoughtful activities.
• Pupils attend regularly and the school has very positive relationships with parents and carers.
• Pupils benefit from an exceptional range of extra-curricular activities, including on-site swimming.
• Personal development and pastoral care prepare pupils exceptionally well for secondary school.
• Trustees and governors support the school effectively and know its strengths and development areas.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment approaches are not consistently effective in some wider curriculum subjects.
• In some foundation subjects, staff do not check pupils' knowledge well enough or adapt lessons precisely.
• A small number of pupils do not build on prior knowledge as effectively as they could, including in art and design.

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 Lambourn CofE Primary School attended 94.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.9% 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 Lambourn 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 Lambourn CofE Primary School had 17.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 38.9% 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, 17.7% of pupils at Lambourn CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.8% 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 Lambourn CofE Primary School received £8,604 and spent £8,717 for each of its 140 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £71,000 (£506 per pupil).

Across all 20 schools of Excalibur Academies Trust, income was £7,945 and spending £8,027 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 Hungerford · West Berkshire local authority: places and applications

Lambourn CofE Primary School is part of Excalibur Academies Trust, which runs 20 schools. The nearest others:

• John O'Gaunt School Hungerford
• Ogbourne CofE Primary School Marlborough
• Great Bedwyn Church of England School Marlborough
• Liden Academy Swindon
• St Katharine's CofE Primary School Marlborough
• Nythe Primary School Swindon
• St John's Marlborough Marlborough
• Burbage Primary School Marlborough
• Easton Royal Academy Pewsey
• Oare Church of England Primary School Marlborough

What is Lambourn CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lambourn CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Lambourn CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Lambourn CofE Primary School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Lambourn CofE Primary School have?

Lambourn CofE Primary School has 130 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lambourn CofE Primary School cover?

Lambourn CofE Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 48% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Lambourn CofE Primary School?

Lambourn CofE Primary School is at Greenways, Lambourn, Hungerford, Berkshire, RG17 7LJ.