Bathwick St Mary Church School

About Bathwick St Mary Church School

Bathwick St Mary Church School is a Church of England primary in Bath and North East Somerset, a local authority where 7 out of 63 primary schools hold an Outstanding Ofsted rating. The school itself currently carries a Good rating, a step down from the Outstanding it achieved in its 2009 inspection. In the LA’s primary rankings, Bathwick St Mary sits at 19th out of 52 schools, placing it in the top 50% nationally. Its closest high-performing peers include Freshford Church School, St Julian’s Church School, and Shoscombe Church School, all of which rank higher on the same metric. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is Widcombe CofE Junior School, just 1.3 km away. With 217 pupils against a capacity of 226, the school is nearly full, and its 6.5% pupil premium rate is notably low, reflecting a relatively affluent intake.

Academically, Bathwick St Mary’s Key Stage 2 results for 2023/24 show 67% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths combined, which is above the LA average of 62%. Reading is a particular strength, with 83% meeting the expected standard and 30% achieving a higher standard. In maths, 73% hit the expected mark, with an average score of 105, while writing saw 80% at expected and 17% at the higher level. However, only 3% of pupils reached the higher standard across all three subjects, which is a low figure. Progress scores are not available, so it’s hard to gauge how much value the school adds relative to starting points. The Ofsted breakdown from November 2022 rated every category — quality of education, behaviour, personal development, leadership, and early years provision — as Good, with no outstanding elements.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a library, playing fields, art studios, a chapel, and an outdoor playground. Sports provision covers tennis, gymnastics, football, and dance, while extracurricular clubs include coding, choir, art, gardening, film, and chess. SEND support is broad, covering dyslexia, speech and language needs, hearing impairment, social and emotional mental health, and autistic spectrum disorder. Admissions are competitive: for 2025/26, the school received 87 applications for 30 places, with 34 first-preference applications and an oversubscription ratio of 2.9. All 30 first-preference offers were made. This is a school that suits families seeking a church-affiliated primary with strong core results, a wide club offer, and a community feel, but who are comfortable with the fact it is no longer rated Outstanding and that securing a place requires a first-preference application.

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