Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery

About Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery

Barnsbury Primary School and Nursery sits within Surrey local authority, where it ranks 168th out of 298 primary schools of the same type. In Woking specifically, the school places 16th out of 20 primaries, placing it in the bottom half of the local league table. For context, the top-performing peers in Surrey include South Farnham School, The Raleigh School and Cardinal Newman Catholic Primary School, all of which score considerably higher on the same ranking metric. Barnsbury’s ranking score of 52, based on the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, puts it well behind those leaders. The school is also some distance from the nearest Outstanding-rated primary, St Dunstan's Catholic Primary School in Woking, which is 2.3 km away. Despite this, Barnsbury holds a Good rating from its most recent graded inspection in 2012, and an ungraded inspection in 2021 confirmed the school remains Good.

In the 2023/24 academic year, 52% of Barnsbury’s Year 6 pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a Surrey local authority average of 66%. That gap is notable, and only 8% of pupils achieved the higher standard in all three subjects. Looking at individual subjects, 68% met the expected standard in reading, with 32% reaching the higher standard; in writing, 60% met the expected standard and 10% achieved the higher standard; in maths, 63% met the expected standard and 16% reached the higher standard. Average scaled scores were 105 in reading and 103 in maths. The school’s most recent graded Ofsted inspection, back in 2012, rated overall effectiveness, leadership and management, and behaviour and attitudes all as Good, while the previous inspection in 2009 had rated the school as Requires Improvement, so the trajectory has been upward.

Barnsbury is a larger-than-average primary with 457 pupils against a capacity of 420, and it is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 120 applications for 49 places, with 36 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.45. The school has a nursery provision for children from age 2, and it offers a broad range of clubs including drama, choir, chess, film club, coding and book club. Sports on offer include cricket, swimming, dance, netball, gymnastics and tennis, and facilities include a dining hall, library, playing fields, sports hall and chapel. The school has a significant SEND offer, with provisions for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing impairment, autistic spectrum disorder and other difficulties. With 12.2% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a mixed catchment and will suit families who value a Good-rated, inclusive primary with strong SEND support and a wide extracurricular programme, even if its academic outcomes sit below the local average.

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