Great Bookham School

About Great Bookham School

Great Bookham School is a state primary in Mole Valley, Surrey, and it currently holds the top spot among the 11 primary schools in the borough, according to local rankings. That puts it ahead of well-regarded peers like South Farnham School, The Raleigh School, and Cardinal Newman Catholic Primary School, which are the top three in the wider Surrey local authority. Headteacher Jenna Allen leads a mixed, non-denominational school of 259 pupils, with capacity for 330. The school is clearly popular: for 2025/26 admissions, it received 171 applications for just 60 places, with 57 first-preference applications and 54 offers going to first-preference families. That oversubscription ratio of 2.85 to one tells you demand is strong. The school also has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 21.6%, which adds useful context when looking at its academic performance.

Academically, Great Bookham delivers strong results. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 88% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, well above the Surrey local authority average of 66%. The school also excels at stretching its pupils: 23% reached the higher standard in all three subjects. In individual subjects, 95% met the expected standard in maths, with an average scaled score of 111, and 60% achieved the higher standard. Reading and writing also performed well, with 93% and 88% reaching the expected standard respectively. Nationally, the school ranks in the top 3% of all primary schools, and in the South East region it sits at 50th out of 2,034. Its most recent Ofsted inspection in February 2025 was a notable improvement on the previous one in 2019, which had rated the school as Requires Improvement. This time, inspectors judged behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management all as Outstanding, while quality of education was rated Good. Early years provision was also rated Outstanding.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a sensory room, library, art studios, playing fields and a chapel. Sports provision covers cricket, tennis, dance, netball and cross country, and there are clubs for art, gardening, science and coding. SEND support is well-developed, with provisions for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent feedback is overwhelmingly positive: 99% of respondents would recommend the school, and 81% strongly agreed that their child is happy there. Strong majorities also strongly agreed that children feel safe, that behaviour is good, and that the school has high expectations. This is a school that suits families looking for a high-performing, oversubscribed primary with strong pastoral care and a broad range of activities, set in a competitive local area.

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