Perryfields Infant School

About Perryfields Infant School

Perryfields Infant School in Chelmsford is a state primary for children aged 5 to 7, and it is currently running at full capacity with 180 pupils on roll matching its 180-place school capacity. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 4.4%, which is notably low compared with national averages, suggesting a relatively affluent local intake. Demand for places is extremely high: for the 2025/26 admissions cycle, the school received 311 applications for just 59 total places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 5.27. Of those applicants, 83 put Perryfields as their first preference, and only 57 first-preference offers were made, meaning a significant number of families who wanted a place here were disappointed. This level of competition signals strong local reputation and makes it a school that parents need to prioritise highly on their application form.

Academically, Perryfields Infant School holds a Good rating from Ofsted, a grade it has maintained consistently across its two most recent inspections. The most recent graded inspection took place in 2012, where the school scored 2 (Good) for overall effectiveness, leadership and management, and early years provision. An ungraded inspection in October 2022 confirmed the school remains Good, with no change to its overall judgement. Because this is an infant school, there are no Key Stage 2 SATs results to report — pupils move on to junior school at age 7. However, the local authority average for Key Stage 2 attainment across Essex primary schools is 62%, which provides a useful benchmark for the junior phase that follows. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is Perryfields Junior School, located just 0.1 km away, creating a natural feeder pathway for families looking for continuity through to age 11.

The school offers a strong range of facilities for such a small setting, including a sports hall, playing fields, a forest school area, an ICT suite, a sensory room, music rooms, and art studios. Sports provision covers cross country, athletics, football, and netball, while extracurricular clubs include art, coding, film club, chess, and gardening. For children with additional needs, the school has dedicated SEND provisions for moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Given the extreme oversubscription, this school is best suited to families living very close to the catchment area who are prepared to list it as their first choice. It is not a boarding school, has no nursery provision, and no sixth form, so it is purely an infant-phase option feeding into local junior schools.

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