St Andrew's CofE Methodist (Aided) Primary School

About St Andrew's CofE Methodist (Aided) Primary School

St Andrew's CofE Methodist (Aided) Primary School in North East Derbyshire is a state primary for mixed pupils aged 4 to 11, currently home to 207 children against a capacity of 226. That leaves a little breathing room, but demand tells a different story: for the 2025/26 intake, the school received 68 applications for just 23 places, with 20 of those going to first-preference families. That oversubscription ratio of nearly 3:1 signals a school that local parents are keen to get into. The pupil body is notably less disadvantaged than the national average, with just 8.2% of children eligible for free school meals, compared with a typical primary figure of around 23% across England. The school holds a Church of England/Methodist religious character, and its headteacher is John Clapham. In its most recent ungraded Ofsted inspection in March 2025, inspectors confirmed that standards were maintained, building on the Good rating awarded in the previous graded inspection in 2016.

Academically, St Andrew's performs well above the local authority average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 tests, 81% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a Derbyshire average of 59%. That puts the school 5th out of 35 primaries in the North East Derbyshire local authority area, and in the top 10% nationally. Results are particularly strong in maths, where 94% of pupils met the expected standard and the average scaled score was 108. In reading, 87% met the expected standard, also with an average score of 108. At the higher standard, 45% of pupils achieved that level in reading, 35% in maths and 13% in writing. The school does not publish progress scores, so it is not possible to compare how much value it adds relative to pupils' starting points, but the attainment outcomes are clearly well above the local norm.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including an ICT suite, sensory room, art studios and a chapel, plus a chapel. Sports provision covers cross country, football, dance, tennis, gymnastics and athletics, and clubs include coding, choir, science club, chess and gardening. SEND support is listed for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, speech and language needs, social and emotional mental health, autistic spectrum disorder and other difficulties. However, the Parent View survey, based on 82 responses between September 2024 and September 2025, shows some concern here: only 47% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that SEND children get the support they need, while 53% disagreed or strongly disagreed. Overall, 87% of parents would recommend the school. This is a popular, high-attaining primary that will suit families prioritising strong academic outcomes and a broad range of activities, though those with SEND children may want to investigate support arrangements more closely.

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