Barlow CofE Primary School

About Barlow CofE Primary School

Barlow CofE Primary School is a small Church of England primary in North East Derbyshire, currently teaching 81 pupils against a capacity of 87, so it runs close to full but with a little breathing room. Its intake reflects a broadly typical demographic for a state primary in the area: 14.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is slightly below the national average for primary schools but sits within the expected range for a semi-rural Derbyshire village school. The school is clearly popular with local families. For the 2025/26 admissions round, it received 31 applications for just 16 places, making it oversubscribed with a ratio of 1.94 applicants per place. All 15 first-preference applicants were offered a spot, meaning that while demand is strong, families who put Barlow first have a very good chance of getting in. The school has held a Good rating from Ofsted across its last two inspections, most recently confirmed in an ungraded visit in February 2024, where inspectors judged that it remains Good.

Academically, Barlow’s Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 year show a mixed picture. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined was 60%, which is almost exactly in line with the Derbyshire local authority average of 59%. That places the school 21st out of 35 primaries in the North East Derbyshire district and in the bottom half nationally, at the 58th percentile. Digging into the individual subjects, maths stands out: 90% of pupils met the expected standard and 30% reached the higher standard, with an average scaled score of 106. Reading was weaker, with 70% at expected and an average score of 103, while writing saw 80% at expected but no pupils at the higher level. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it is hard to say how much value the school adds relative to starting points, but the maths results are clearly a strength.

The school offers a solid range of facilities for its size, including a sports hall, gymnasium, ICT suite, outdoor playground and a Forest School area, plus a chapel reflecting its Church of England character. Clubs include Book Club, Science Club, Art Club and Coding, and the sports on offer cover cross country, athletics, cricket, rounders and gymnastics. For SEND, the school supports pupils with moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. With no nursery or sixth form, it is a straightforward primary for children aged 4 to 11. Given its oversubscription but strong first-preference offer rate, Barlow suits families who live nearby and want a small, faith-based village school with decent maths outcomes and a broad set of extracurricular activities.

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