Cross Farm Infant Academy

About Cross Farm Infant Academy

Cross Farm Infant Academy is a small state primary in Surrey Heath, within the Surrey local authority, catering for children aged 5 to 7. It sits among 298 primary schools in the county, where 33 currently hold an Outstanding rating from Ofsted. The school’s own most recent inspection, in 2023, rated it Requires Improvement overall, a significant drop from its previous Outstanding grade in 2011. Among Surrey’s top-performing peers, South Farnham School, The Raleigh School, and Cardinal Newman Catholic Primary School lead the local rankings, setting a high benchmark for infant and primary education in the area. Cross Farm is notably small, with just 80 pupils against a capacity of 180, and 15% of its children qualify for free school meals. The school does not have a nursery or sixth form, and its religious character is listed as not applicable. Headteacher Alison Stone leads a team that has been judged to require improvement in both leadership and the quality of education, though behaviour, personal development, and early years provision are all rated Good.

Academically, the picture is mixed. The school’s Ofsted breakdown shows that while early years provision, personal development, and behaviour and attitudes are all Good, the quality of education and leadership and management both require improvement. No Key Stage 2 SATs results are available for Cross Farm, as it only covers infants up to Year 2, so it does not participate in the national assessments taken at age 11. This makes direct comparison with the Surrey local authority average of 66% achieving the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths impossible. However, the school’s small size and early-years focus mean that outcomes are measured primarily through the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile and Year 1 phonics screening, for which data is not provided here. The previous Outstanding rating in 2011 suggests a history of strong performance, but the 2023 inspection indicates that standards have slipped, particularly in curriculum delivery and leadership oversight.

For families considering Cross Farm, the practical picture is one of high demand and limited places. In the 2025/26 admissions round, the school received 70 applications for just 26 places, with 24 of those going to first-preference families, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.69. This suggests strong local popularity despite the Requires Improvement rating. Facilities include a gymnasium, dining hall, library, playing fields, and even a chapel, alongside an outdoor playground. Sports on offer range from netball and swimming to athletics and tennis, and clubs include book club, coding, and science club. The school provides targeted support for social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication difficulties, and autistic spectrum disorder. Cross Farm will suit families who value a small, community-focused infant school with good early years provision and a wide range of activities, but who are comfortable with a school that is currently working through an improvement journey under new leadership.

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