St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School

St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School is a welcoming, nurturing and truly inclusive school where pupils thrive academically and personally. This was its first routine section 5 inspection; it is an academy converter within the Xavier Catholic Education Trust and has a Catholic ethos. Inspectors found exceptional provision across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years. Pupils are keen learners, their behaviour is exemplary, and they achieve high standards. The curriculum is ambitious and broad, with specialist teaching in subjects such as music, PE and Spanish, rigorous identification and support for pupils with SEND, and a strong focus on early reading and phonics. Staff are well supported and well trained, and teaching is consistently effective. Pupils benefit from a rich programme of enrichment, leadership opportunities and character development, while attendance is high and safeguarding arrangements are effective. No areas for improvement were identified in the report. The school is very well led and managed, and leaders leave nothing to chance in ensuring pupils receive a high-quality education.

Strengths

• Welcoming, nurturing and truly inclusive culture where all pupils access an ambitious curriculum
• Exceptionally well-led and managed school with rigorous systems and a supportive staff culture
• Pupils behave exceptionally well, with calm classrooms and embedded routines from Reception
• High-quality, broad curriculum enriched by specialist teaching in music, PE and Spanish
• Strong early years provision that builds foundational knowledge and language skills
• Consistent, effective phonics teaching with targeted support so weaker readers catch up quickly
• Accurate identification and successful support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• Teachers explain concepts clearly, adapt skilfully and intervene promptly when pupils misunderstand
• Pupils achieve highly and produce work of excellent standard across the curriculum
• High attendance and effective support for pupils’ emotional well-being and behaviour
• Rich personal development programme with leadership opportunities, STARR values and enrichment
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

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 Polycarp's Catholic Primary School attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.2% 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, 1.2% of pupils at St Polycarp's Catholic 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 St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School had 22.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.6% 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, 12.5% of pupils at St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% 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 Polycarp's Catholic Primary School received £6,530 and spent £6,826 for each of its 419 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £177,000 (£421 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Xavier Catholic Education Trust, income was £6,512 and spending £6,815 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

St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School is part of Xavier Catholic Education Trust, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• St Augustine's Catholic Primary School Camberley
• St Edmund's Catholic Primary School Godalming
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Guildford
• St Hugh of Lincoln Catholic Primary School Woking
• St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School Guildford
• St Peter's Catholic School Guildford
• St John the Baptist Catholic Comprehensive School, Woking Woking
• St Cuthbert Mayne Catholic Primary School Cranleigh
• The Marist Catholic Primary School West Byfleet
• Holy Family Catholic Primary School Addlestone

What is St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School is Outstanding, from an inspection in April 2025.

When was St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School have?

St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School has 433 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School cover?

St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 78% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School?

St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School is at Waverley Lane, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 8BQ.