Burnsall Voluntary Aided Primary School

About Burnsall Voluntary Aided Primary School

Burnsall Voluntary Aided Primary School holds a Good rating from Ofsted, a grade it has maintained across both its most recent inspections. In its 2023 ungraded inspection, the school was confirmed to have remained Good, with leadership and management also rated Good. The most telling academic metric is the Key Stage 2 combined reading, writing and maths expected standard, where 63% of pupils met the benchmark in the 2023/24 results. That figure sits just above the North Yorkshire local authority average of 60%, placing the school in the top half of primary schools nationally, at the 49th percentile. While no pupils reached the higher standard across all three subjects, individual subject results show a more nuanced picture: 75% hit the expected standard in both reading and writing, and 25% achieved the higher standard in reading. Maths scores were slightly lower, with 63% at expected and 13% at the higher level, and an average scaled score of 103.

The school’s Progress 8 scores are not available, but the KS2 outcomes offer a solid baseline for a small rural primary. In the North Yorkshire local authority ranking, Burnsall sits at 96th out of 223 primary schools, placing it in the top half of the county. Within the Yorkshire and the Humber region, it ranks 710th out of 1,506 schools, again around the midpoint. The school’s ranking score of 63, based on the KS2 combined expected standard, puts it just behind the top local peers like Eppleby Forcett and Sacred Heart Catholic Primary, which both scored 100. For a school with only 43 pupils, these results are respectable and suggest consistent teaching, though the small cohort size means individual pupil performance can swing the percentages significantly from year to year.

Burnsall is a Church of England voluntary aided primary for children aged 4 to 11, with a Christian character. It is heavily oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, there were 25 applications for just 8 places, a ratio of over 3 to 1, and all first-preference applicants were offered places. The school has a strong set of facilities for its size, including a sports hall, gymnasium, playing fields, forest school, music rooms, art studios and a chapel. Clubs include coding, choir, art, eco and drama, and sports on offer range from swimming and athletics to netball and football. SEND provision covers specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, and speech, language and communication needs. This is a small, community-focused school that suits families who value a close-knit environment and are prepared for a competitive admissions process.

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