Baydon St Nicholas Church of England Primary School

About Baydon St Nicholas Church of England Primary School

Parents considering Baydon St Nicholas Church of England Primary School will find a small village school with clear local demand. In the 2025/26 admissions round, the school received 14 applications for just 8 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.75. Six of those applications were first-preference choices, and six first-preference offers were made, meaning every family who put the school first secured a place. That level of competition suggests a school that local parents actively want, though it is not so oversubscribed that it feels out of reach. The school itself is a Church of England primary for 4 to 11 year olds, with headteacher Emma Gilbert leading a roll of 90 pupils against a capacity of 140, so there is some room to grow. The most recent Ofsted inspection, carried out in April 2024, rated the school Good across every category: overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. That is a clean sweep of Good ratings, and it matches the school's previous inspection in 2012, which also judged it Good overall.

Academically, Baydon St Nicholas performs around the middle of the pack for Wiltshire primary schools. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 tests, 55% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, slightly below the Wiltshire local authority average of 58%. The school ranks 91st out of 159 primary schools in the county, placing it in the bottom half of the local league table. Breaking down the individual subjects, reading was the strongest area: 80% of pupils met the expected standard and 30% achieved a higher score. Maths followed with 60% at expected and 30% at a higher level, while writing saw 70% at expected but only 10% reaching the higher threshold. Average scaled scores were 105 in reading and 103 in maths, both a touch above the national benchmark of 100. Nationally, the school sits in the 68th percentile when ranked by the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in all three subjects, so it is performing broadly in line with typical state primaries across England.

The school offers a practical, well-equipped environment for its pupils. Facilities include a library, gymnasium, outdoor playground, playing fields and a chapel, reflecting its Church of England foundation. Sports provision is solid, with football, athletics, cross country, rounders, tennis, gymnastics and dance on offer, plus clubs such as chess, film club and coding. For families with children who have additional needs, the school lists support for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. There is no nursery provision or sixth form, as this is a straight primary school. The school is a state-funded mixed school, so there are no boarding or fee-paying options. Given its Good Ofsted rating, moderate academic results and clear local popularity, Baydon St Nicholas will suit families who value a small, community-focused Church of England primary with a strong reading record and a decent range of extracurricular activities, and who are comfortable that it is not among the highest-performing schools in the county.

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