Goring Church of England Aided Primary School

About Goring Church of England Aided Primary School

Goring Church of England Aided Primary School’s headline metrics put it comfortably ahead of the local authority average for primary schools. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 79% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with an Oxfordshire average of 61%. That 18-point gap is significant and places the school in the top 25% nationally for this measure. The school ranks 9th out of 48 primary schools in South Oxfordshire, sitting in the 18th percentile locally. Its overall ranking score of 79 reflects strong performance across the board, though it sits behind top local peers like Longworth and Hornton, both of which scored 100. The school’s relatively small size — 168 pupils against a capacity of 210 — means class sizes are manageable, and the pupil-to-teacher ratio is favourable. The most recent Ofsted inspection, an ungraded visit in December 2024, judged that the school had improved significantly since its previous graded inspection, while retaining an overall Good rating.

Digging into the detail of the Key Stage 2 results, Goring’s strengths are spread across the core subjects. In maths, 89% of pupils met the expected standard and 50% reached the higher standard, with an average scaled score of 108. Reading saw 86% at expected and 29% at the higher level, with an average score of 107. Writing was similarly strong, with 86% at expected and 39% at the higher standard. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher standard in all three subjects — reading, writing and maths — was 14%. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points, but the attainment figures are clearly above the local norm. The school’s Ofsted breakdown from its most recent graded inspection in November 2014 rated leadership and management, early years provision and overall effectiveness all as Good. The 2024 ungraded inspection confirmed that the school continues to improve, which suggests the leadership team under headteacher Angela Wheatcroft is maintaining momentum.

The school is oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, there were 54 applications for 27 places, with all 27 first-preference applicants receiving offers. That gives an oversubscription ratio of 2:1, so families living outside the catchment will need to consider their chances carefully. Facilities include a gymnasium, sports hall, library, ICT suite, chapel and forest school, plus playing fields and an outdoor playground. Sports on offer include tennis, gymnastics, athletics, swimming, cricket and rounders, and there is a range of clubs from book club to gardening, drama, choir and chess. The school’s SEND provisions cover seven areas, including specific learning difficulties, speech and language needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses from 83 families are overwhelmingly positive: 98% of respondents would recommend the school, and 81% strongly agreed that their child is happy there. This is a Church of England school with a clear community feel, suited to families who value strong academic outcomes within a smaller, well-regarded village primary.

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