Freshford Church School

About Freshford Church School

Freshford Church School is a small primary in Bath and North East Somerset, running at its full capacity of 160 pupils. The school’s intake is notably less diverse in terms of disadvantage than the national picture: just 1.3% of pupils qualify for free school meals, compared with a typical national primary average of around 23%. That low figure suggests a relatively affluent catchment, and the school’s popularity among local families is clear from its admission data. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 44 applications for 20 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.2. Of those applicants, 23 put Freshford as their first preference, and all 20 first-preference offers were taken up. The school is a Church of England voluntary controlled school, and its religious character is likely a factor in its admissions criteria, though the data doesn’t specify how oversubscription places are allocated beyond that.

Academically, Freshford Church School is an outlier in the best possible sense. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, every single pupil met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — a perfect 100% against a local authority average of 62%. The school also ranks first out of 52 primary schools in Bath and North East Somerset, and 25th nationally out of 13,686 primaries, placing it in the top 0.2% of schools in the country. At the higher standard, 36% of pupils achieved greater depth in reading, writing and maths, while 68% reached that level in reading and maths individually. Average scaled scores of 112 in both reading and maths are well above the national benchmark of 100. Ofsted last inspected the school in June 2022, confirming it remains Good — a rating it has held consistently since at least 2014, when its last graded inspection also awarded Good for overall effectiveness, leadership and management.

The school offers a broad set of facilities for a primary of its size, including a forest school, sensory room, chapel, art studios, music rooms and an ICT suite. Sports provision covers gymnastics, swimming, cricket and netball, while clubs include book club, drama, eco club and gardening. SEND support is listed for specific learning difficulties (dyslexia), speech, language and communication needs, social, emotional and mental health, visual impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder — though the data doesn’t detail how many pupils have an education, health and care plan. With no nursery or sixth form, and no boarding, this is a straightforward village primary for children aged 4 to 11. Given its small size, strong academic outcomes and high demand, Freshford is best suited to families living within its catchment who value a church school with a strong community feel and can secure a place early in the admissions process.

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