Cherry Tree Academy Trust Marham Junior

About Cherry Tree Academy Trust Marham Junior

Cherry Tree Academy Trust Marham Junior has been rated Good by Ofsted following its most recent graded inspection in 2017, and a subsequent ungraded inspection in 2023 confirmed the school remains Good. That 2023 visit found leadership and management also Good, a notable improvement from the school's previous graded inspection in 2014, which rated overall effectiveness as Inadequate. The most telling academic metric is the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined (the RWM measure) in the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments: 41% of pupils achieved this benchmark. That figure sits below the Norfolk local authority average of 52% for the same measure, and it places the school 205th out of 344 primary schools in the county. Nationally, Cherry Tree ranks in the bottom half of all schools on this metric, at the 90th percentile.

Looking at individual subjects, the school's strongest KS2 result is in writing, where 69% of pupils met the expected standard and 17% reached the higher standard. Reading follows with 59% at expected and 14% at higher, while maths trails at 45% expected and just 3% higher. Average scaled scores tell a similar story: reading averaged 102, maths 99. The school has no progress scores published for any subject, so it is not possible to see how much value it adds relative to pupils' starting points. In the local ranking for the King's Lynn and West Norfolk area, Cherry Tree sits 43rd out of 58 primary schools, placing it in the bottom 50% of its immediate district. The top-performing local peers, such as Ditchingham Church of England Primary Academy and Surlingham Primary School, both achieved a ranking score of 100, highlighting a significant gap in outcomes.

The school is a state-funded junior school for pupils aged 7 to 11, with 186 pupils on roll against a capacity of 240, so there is some room for growth. It has a below-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 17.2%. Facilities include a sports hall, gymnasium, ICT suite, art studios, a sensory room and even a chapel, plus an outdoor playground. Sports on offer are rounders, football, cricket and dance, while clubs include art, coding, gardening and book club. The school identifies a range of SEND provisions, including support for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, speech and language needs, and social, emotional and mental health needs. This is a school that has turned around from a previous Inadequate rating and now offers a stable Good provision, but families prioritising strong academic outcomes at KS2 may want to weigh the below-average combined results carefully against the broader pastoral and facilities offer.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Cherry Tree Academy Trust Marham Junior

Helpful Guides for Parents