Great Bookham School

Great Bookham School is an exceptionally friendly, welcoming and happy primary school where pupils feel safe and valued. This was its first routine section 5 inspection, and it is part of the South Farnham Educational Trust. The school has high expectations, including for pupils with SEND, and pupils achieve extremely well in English and mathematics. Behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision were all judged outstanding, while the quality of education was good. The curriculum is broad, ambitious and well sequenced, with reading a high priority and strong phonics support for pupils at risk of falling behind. Pupils with SEND are identified swiftly and supported effectively, and children in the early years develop exceptionally strong foundations in a nurturing environment. Pupils’ wider development is exceptionally well provided for through trips, clubs, performances and pupil roles, and leaders work very effectively with the trust. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main area for improvement is that, in a small number of subjects, pupils do not always have enough opportunities to recall and apply key knowledge. As a result, they are sometimes less able to retain what they have learned and use it in future learning. The school should ensure sufficient focus on the knowledge pupils need to remember and recall so that they build their understanding more effectively over time.

Strengths

• Exceptionally friendly, welcoming and happy school community
• Warm and caring relationships between adults and pupils
• High expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND
• Strong learning behaviours from the early years
• Pupils achieve extremely well in national assessments in English and mathematics
• Broad and ambitious curriculum with clearly sequenced knowledge
• Reading is a high priority throughout the school
• Well-structured phonics programme with effective additional support
• Pupils with SEND are identified swiftly and supported effectively
• Early years provision provides exceptionally strong foundations for learning
• Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary and lessons proceed without disruption
• High expectations of attendance and tireless work to remove barriers
• Exceptionally well-planned wider development opportunities
• Disadvantaged pupils are well represented in wider activities
• Trust and school leaders collaborate very effectively
• Staff workload and well-being are genuinely cared for
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, pupils do not always have enough opportunities to recall and apply key knowledge
• Pupils are sometimes unable to retain and apply learning to future work as well as they should

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 Great Bookham School attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.0% 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, 2.3% of pupils at Great Bookham 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 Great Bookham School had 23.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.7% 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, 14.3% of pupils at Great Bookham School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.5% 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 Great Bookham School received £6,270 and spent £7,195 for each of its 259 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £78,000 (£301 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of South Farnham Educational Trust, income was £7,672 and spending £7,384 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 Leatherhead · Surrey local authority: places and applications

Great Bookham School is part of South Farnham Educational Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• The Raleigh School Leatherhead
• Wallace Fields Infant School and Nursery Epsom
• Worplesdon Primary School Guildford
• Wood Street Infant School and Nursery Guildford
• Busbridge Infant School Godalming
• Normandy Village School Guildford
• South Farnham School Farnham
• Highfield South Farnham School Farnham
• Kings Furlong Infant School and Nursery Basingstoke
• Brighton Hill Community School Basingstoke

What is Great Bookham School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Great Bookham School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Great Bookham School last inspected by Ofsted?

Great Bookham School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Great Bookham School have?

Great Bookham School has 335 pupils on roll.

What age range does Great Bookham School cover?

Great Bookham School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Great Bookham School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 96% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Great Bookham School?

Great Bookham School is at Griffin Way, Great Bookham, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT23 4JJ.