Great Barton Church of England Primary Academy

About Great Barton Church of England Primary Academy

Great Barton Church of England Primary Academy holds a Good rating from its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, but the detail beneath that headline tells a more interesting story. The school was previously rated Outstanding in 2009, and while the overall grade has shifted, inspectors found that several areas remain at the highest level. Behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and early years provision were all judged Outstanding in the latest inspection, with leadership and management and quality of education rated Good. On the key academic metric of Key Stage 2 outcomes, 64% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined in the 2023/24 academic year. That is six percentage points above the Suffolk local authority average of 58%, placing the school comfortably ahead of the typical primary in the area. In the West Suffolk local ranking, Great Barton sits 15th out of 44 primary schools, putting it in the top half of its immediate borough.

Looking more closely at the exam data, the school’s strongest subject at Key Stage 2 is maths, where pupils achieved an average scaled score of 107 and 79% reached the expected standard. Reading also performed well with an average score of 107 and 71% at the expected level, while writing saw 75% of pupils meet expectations. At the higher standard, 36% of pupils achieved greater depth in both maths and reading, and 18% did so in writing and the combined measure. These figures suggest solid, consistent teaching across the core subjects, with maths a particular strength. The school’s national ranking places it in the 46th percentile among all primary schools, and within the East of England region it sits in the 42nd percentile. While not among the very top performers nationally, Great Barton delivers results that are reliably above the local norm, which will reassure parents looking for a school that outperforms its immediate neighbours.

The school is a Church of England primary with a capacity of 210 pupils and currently has 191 on roll, so there is some room for growth. It is oversubscribed for the 2025/26 intake, with 52 applications for 23 places and all first-preference applicants receiving an offer. The oversubscription ratio of 2.26 to one means competition is moderate but not extreme. Facilities include a library, playing fields, art studios, a gymnasium, sports hall, chapel and a forest school, which supports outdoor learning. Sports on offer include rounders, football, dance and tennis, and clubs include chess, choir and art club. The school has SEND provision for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, speech, language and communication needs, social, emotional and mental health support, and physical disability. This is a good-fit school for families in the West Suffolk area who want a primary with strong behaviour standards, above-average academic outcomes, and a clear Christian character, without the pressure of a highly selective or heavily oversubscribed setting.

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