Parracombe Church of England Primary School

About Parracombe Church of England Primary School

Parracombe Church of England Primary School was rated Good in its most recent graded Ofsted inspection, a clear improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating. A subsequent ungraded inspection in 2023 confirmed the school remains Good, with leadership and management and early years provision both judged Good. The single most informative academic metric is the Key Stage 2 combined reading, writing and maths expected standard, where 43% of pupils achieved this benchmark. That places the school well below the Devon local authority average of 57% and ranks it 202nd out of 309 primary schools in the county. Within the smaller North Devon area, the school ranks 28th out of 31 schools on this same metric. Nationally, it sits in the bottom 50% of all primary schools. However, individual subject results tell a more varied story: 71% of pupils reached the expected standard in maths and the same percentage in writing, while reading lagged slightly at 57%.

Average scores in reading (106) and maths (105) both sit above the national benchmark of 100, suggesting that while combined attainment is below the local average, many children are performing well in core subjects individually. In maths, 43% of pupils achieved the higher standard, and in reading 57% did, though no pupils reached the higher threshold in writing or the combined measure. Progress scores are not available for any subject, making it difficult to assess how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. A third of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average, which may partly explain the gap between the school's combined expected standard and the Devon average. With only 39 pupils on roll against a capacity of 56, results can fluctuate significantly year on year, so the data should be interpreted with that small cohort in mind.

The school offers a range of facilities including a dining hall, sports hall, art studios, library, chapel and a Forest School, which is a strong draw for families who value outdoor learning. Sports provision covers gymnastics, rounders, netball, dance, cross country, tennis and athletics, while clubs include art, science, drama, chess, book club and coding. The school supports pupils with moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and other disabilities. With only 39 pupils, class sizes are very small, which can suit children who thrive in a close-knit, rural setting. The school is Church of England and mixed, serving ages 4 to 11, with no nursery or sixth form provision. Oversubscription is unlikely given the spare capacity, so families in the North Devon area looking for a village primary with a strong maths focus and outdoor learning opportunities may find Parracombe a good fit.

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