Lydeard St Lawrence Community Primary School

About Lydeard St Lawrence Community Primary School

Parents seem genuinely pleased with Lydeard St Lawrence Community Primary School. In the most recent Parent View survey, covering the period from September 2024 to September 2025, 85% of the 20 respondents said they would recommend the school to other parents. That’s a strong signal, and it’s backed up by the detail: 90% of parents either agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy at the school, and the same proportion felt the school has high expectations for their child. The school is also clearly popular locally. For the 2025/26 academic year, it received 8 applications for just 4 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2:1. All four first-preference applicants were offered a place, but with twice as many families applying as there were spaces, it’s a school that’s in demand. The headteacher is Rebecca Lihou, and the school is a mixed, state primary for children aged 4 to 11, with no religious character.

Academically, Lydeard St Lawrence is performing well above the local average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 83% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That compares very favourably with the Somerset local authority average of 59% for the same measure. The school’s average scaled scores were 104 in reading and 103 in maths, both above the national benchmark of 100. No pupils reached the higher standard in all three subjects, though 17% did so in reading. The school ranks 13th out of 134 primary schools in Somerset on this combined expected standard metric, placing it in the top 10% of schools in the local authority. Nationally, it sits in the top 8% of all primary schools. This strong academic performance is a recent turnaround. In its previous Ofsted inspection in November 2021, the school was rated Inadequate overall. However, in its most recent graded inspection in June 2025, inspectors judged the school Good across all areas, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

The school is small, with just 37 pupils on roll against a capacity of 90, which means class sizes are very small and children get plenty of individual attention. Facilities include an outdoor playground, sports hall, art studios, music rooms, and an ICT suite. There’s a good range of sports on offer, including football, netball, cricket, gymnastics and cross country, plus clubs such as drama, choir, eco club, science club and gardening. The school has identified SEND provisions for pupils with specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, autistic spectrum disorder, and social, emotional and mental health needs. However, the Parent View data on SEND support was inconclusive, with no responses recorded for that question. With its strong academic results, small size and high parent satisfaction, this school is a particularly good fit for families who want a close-knit, community-focused primary in rural Somerset, though you’ll need to apply early given the oversubscription.

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