Durley Church of England Controlled Primary School

About Durley Church of England Controlled Primary School

Durley Church of England Controlled Primary School is a small state primary in Winchester that is significantly oversubscribed, a clear signal of its local popularity. With 141 pupils on roll against a capacity of 112, the school is operating above its official limit, and for the 2025/26 academic year it received 105 applications for just 20 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 5.25. Of those, 26 were first-preference applications, and only 20 first-preference offers were made. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 12.1%, which is broadly in line with the national average for primary schools and suggests a mixed intake. The school has a Church of England religious character and is led by headteacher Caroline Grist. Its most recent Ofsted inspection, an ungraded visit in November 2024, confirmed that the school continues to maintain the Outstanding standards it achieved in its previous graded inspection, with leadership and management, early years provision, and overall effectiveness all rated Outstanding.

Academically, Durley’s Key Stage 2 results for 2023/24 show a mixed picture. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined was 57%, which is below the Hampshire local authority average of 61%. This places the school 27th out of 35 primary schools in the Winchester local authority ranking, and in the bottom 50% nationally. However, individual subject scores tell a more nuanced story: 76% of pupils met the expected standard in reading and 71% in maths, with average scaled scores of 104 in both subjects. Writing was weaker, with 62% at expected and only 10% working at greater depth. The school’s Ofsted breakdown from its 2019 graded inspection rated early years provision as Outstanding, and the 2024 ungraded inspection confirmed that standards have been maintained across the board, including in behaviour and personal development.

The school offers a strong range of facilities for its size, including a sports hall, playing fields, a gymnasium, an ICT suite, a sensory room, and a forest school, plus a chapel reflecting its Church of England foundation. Sports on offer include netball, football, rounders, cricket and swimming, and there are clubs for drama, gardening and book club. SEND support is available for pupils with specific learning difficulties (dyslexia), speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent feedback is overwhelmingly positive: 99% of respondents to the Ofsted Parent View survey would recommend the school, with 87% strongly agreeing that their child is happy and 90% strongly agreeing that their child feels safe. Given the intense competition for places, this school is best suited to families living within its catchment area who can secure a first-preference application, and who value a small, community-focused primary with strong pastoral care and a clear Church of England ethos.

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