South Farnham School

About South Farnham School

South Farnham School is a large state primary in Waverley, Surrey, and it is significantly oversubscribed. With 847 pupils on roll against a capacity of 724, the school is operating well above its official limit, a clear sign of its local popularity. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 311 total applications for just 90 places, with 162 of those coming as first preferences. That works out at an oversubscription ratio of 3.46, meaning nearly three and a half families applied for every available spot. The school’s intake is notably less diverse socioeconomically than the national picture: only 1.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, compared with a national primary average that typically sits around 23-24%. This is a school that draws heavily from its immediate, relatively affluent catchment area, and the demand data suggests that securing a place here is highly competitive.

Academically, South Farnham is an outlier even by Surrey’s strong standards. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024, it was rated 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 clean sweep of top grades. Its Key Stage 2 results for 2023/24 are exceptional. Every single pupil met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, and 50% reached the higher standard in all three. The average scaled scores were 113 in reading and 112 in maths, well above the national average of 100. In the local authority, it ranks first out of 22 primary schools on the key measure of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. For context, the Surrey LA average for this metric is 66%, so South Farnham’s 100% is a full 34 percentage points ahead.

The school is well equipped to support its pupils, with facilities including a sensory room, playing fields, music rooms and a chapel. It offers a broad range of sports such as cross country, netball, tennis, dance, athletics, rounders and swimming, plus clubs covering choir, coding, art, drama and chess. For children with additional needs, the school has identified SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Given the intense competition for places, this is a school that will suit families who live very close to the catchment area and are prepared for a highly academic, high-expectation environment. It is not a school for those seeking a more diverse socioeconomic mix, but for families who can secure a place, the outcomes are among the strongest in the region.

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