Skirlaugh Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

About Skirlaugh Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Skirlaugh Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is a small village primary in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and its intake numbers tell an interesting story. With 127 pupils on roll against a capacity of 191, the school is operating at roughly two-thirds full, which is not unusual for a rural primary. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 12.8%, a figure that sits below the national average for primary schools, suggesting a relatively affluent local catchment. However, the school is clearly in demand: for the 2025/26 admissions round, it received 17 applications for just 12 places, with all 12 first-preference families securing a spot. That oversubscription ratio of 1.42 indicates that while it’s not a scramble, parents in the area are actively choosing Skirlaugh over other options. The school is Church of England voluntary controlled, and headteacher Carrieanne Pitois leads a mixed-gender, 3-11 cohort that includes a nursery provision.

Academically, Skirlaugh performs well above the local authority average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 75% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with an East Riding average of 61%. That places the school 18th out of 106 primaries in the local authority, comfortably in the top 20%. Looking at individual subjects, 90% hit the expected standard in reading and 85% in maths, with average scaled scores of 107 and 108 respectively. Higher-standard attainment is more mixed: 35% achieved the higher bar in maths, but no pupils reached it in reading or writing. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection, in May 2025, rated behaviour and attitudes as Outstanding, with the rest of the provision — quality of education, personal development, early years and leadership — all judged Good. This is a consistent improvement from its previous Good rating in 2011, where early years provision had been graded lower.

The school offers a solid range of facilities for its size, including a sports hall, playing fields, an ICT suite, music rooms, art studios, a chapel and a Forest School area. Sports provision covers netball, tennis, athletics, swimming, dance, gymnastics and cricket, while clubs include coding, science, drama, art, film and gardening. For SEND, the school lists support for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, speech and language needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses, based on 28 respondents, show strong satisfaction: 93% agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy, and 96% that their child feels safe. However, only 68% felt concerns were dealt with properly, and 82% would recommend the school to another parent. This is a good fit for families in the Skirlaugh area who want a Church of England primary with strong academic outcomes and a calm, well-behaved environment, but it’s worth noting the school is already oversubscribed.

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