Etching Hill CofE Primary Academy

About Etching Hill CofE Primary Academy

Etching Hill CofE Primary Academy is clearly a popular choice among local families. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 91 applications for just 56 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.63. That means for every place available, more than one and a half families wanted it. Of those 91 applicants, 54 put Etching Hill as their first preference, and all 54 were offered a place. This level of demand suggests a strong reputation in the Cannock Chase area. The school is a Church of England primary for children aged 3 to 11, with a nursery provision on site. It currently has 477 pupils on roll, well above its official capacity of 360, which further underlines how sought-after it is. The headteacher is Marie Smith, and the school’s most recent Ofsted inspection, an ungraded visit in December 2023, confirmed it remains Good and is improving.

Academically, Etching Hill performs solidly against local and national benchmarks. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 tests, 69% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That is above the Staffordshire local authority average of 65%. The school also does well at the higher standard: 9% of pupils achieved that top tier across all three subjects. In reading, 86% met the expected standard and 33% reached the higher standard; in maths, the figures were 78% and 26% respectively. Average scaled scores were 107 for reading and 106 for maths. The school ranks 7th out of 23 primary schools in Cannock Chase, placing it in the top third locally. Nationally, it sits in the 33rd percentile. Its previous Ofsted inspection, a graded visit in 2013, rated the school Requires Improvement, so the jump to Good and the improving trajectory noted in 2023 represent clear progress.

The school offers a wide range of facilities, including an ICT suite, library, gymnasium, playing fields, a sensory room and a chapel. Sports provision covers football, cricket, swimming, gymnastics, athletics and tennis, while clubs extend to drama, choir, art, science, film and gardening. For families with children who have additional needs, the school lists SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, visual impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. The nearest Outstanding-rated primary school is The St. Mary's CofE Primary School, 2.5 km away, which may be relevant for families weighing options. Etching Hill suits families who want a well-subscribed, improving Church of England primary with strong core results and a broad extracurricular offer, all within a single-form-entry setting that is clearly in high demand locally.

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