Pewley Down Infant School

About Pewley Down Infant School

Pewley Down Infant School is a Church of England primary for children aged 4 to 7, located in Guildford within the Surrey local authority. Surrey is a competitive landscape for primary schools, with 33 out of 298 schools rated Outstanding by Ofsted. Among its peers in the county, Pewley Down sits below the top-ranked trio of South Farnham School, The Raleigh School, and Cardinal Newman Catholic Primary School, but its own inspection record is impeccable. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024, the school was judged Outstanding across every single category: overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This is a repeat of the Outstanding rating it received in its previous inspection in 2012, demonstrating sustained high performance. The nearest Outstanding alternative is Burpham Primary School, 3.3 kilometres away, making Pewley Down a strong local option for families seeking top-tier infant education in central Guildford.

Academic outcomes at Pewley Down are not published in the form of KS2 SATs results because the school only covers infants up to Year 2, and national assessments at that stage are teacher-led rather than externally reported. However, the Ofsted inspection provides a thorough picture of quality. Inspectors rated the quality of education as Outstanding, noting that the early years provision is also Outstanding. The school has 178 pupils against a capacity of 180, so it is essentially full. Its percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is 7.3%, which is below the national average, indicating a relatively affluent intake. The school does not have a sixth form or nursery provision, so children typically move on to a junior school after Year 2. For context, the Surrey local authority average for Key Stage 2 attainment is 66, but this metric applies to schools with older pupils and is not directly comparable to Pewley Down’s infant-only setting.

Pewley Down is heavily oversubscribed. For the 2025/26 academic year, it offered 59 total places but received 155 applications, an oversubscription ratio of 2.63. Of those, 66 were first-preference applications, and 57 first-preference offers were made, meaning most successful families had ranked it top. The school’s facilities include music rooms, playing fields, a gymnasium, dining hall, sports hall, and a chapel, which is notable for a small infant school. Sports offered include rounders, netball, tennis, athletics, swimming, and cricket, while clubs range from choir and science club to eco club and coding. The school supports children with specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, social, emotional and mental health needs, and speech, language and communication needs. This is a school that suits families who want a strong start in a faith-based, high-performing infant setting, but who are prepared to navigate a competitive admissions process and plan for a transition to a separate junior school at age seven.

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