St Andrew's Church School

About St Andrew's Church School

St Andrew's Church School sits in a tricky spot when you line it up against the local authority average for primary schools in Bath and North East Somerset. The LA average for pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined (the key KS2 benchmark) is 62 per cent, but at St Andrew's that figure is 43 per cent. That is a gap of nearly 20 percentage points, and it places the school 46th out of 52 primaries in the area, firmly in the bottom half of the local league table. The picture is similar when you look at individual subjects: 57 per cent of pupils hit the expected standard in reading, 60 per cent in writing, and 50 per cent in maths, all below the LA norm. The school is also oversubscribed — 83 families applied for 30 places in 2025/26 — so demand remains strong despite the headline results, suggesting parents are weighing other factors beyond raw exam scores.

The most recent Ofsted inspection, in April 2022, rated the school Good across every category: overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. That is a consistent set of Good grades, and it matches the school's previous Good rating from 2014, so there is stability in leadership under headteacher Naomi Boyce. On the KS2 tests, the average reading score was 104 and the average maths score was 101, both a touch above the national baseline of 100. However, the proportion of pupils reaching the higher standard in reading, writing and maths combined was just 10 per cent, and the school ranks in the bottom 50 nationally on the expected standard metric. The local authority has seven Outstanding primaries, including Widcombe CofE Junior School just 1.5 km away, so St Andrew's is not the top academic choice in the area, but it is not a failing school either.

Facilities are a real strength here: the school has a forest school, a sensory room, a gymnasium, playing fields, music rooms, a chapel, and an ICT suite, which is a generous spread for a primary of 237 pupils. There is also a nursery provision for children from age three. The SEND offer is broad, covering dyslexia, speech and language needs, autistic spectrum disorder, social and emotional mental health, and multi-sensory impairment, so the school is well equipped to support children with additional needs. With 18.8 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals, the intake is more diverse than some of the more affluent primaries in Bath. This is a school that suits families who value a strong pastoral and extracurricular offer — clubs include science, coding, drama, choir, and art — and who are comfortable that academic results sit below the local average, but are backed by a solid Ofsted record and a clear sense of community.

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