St John's CofE Primary and Nursery School

About St John's CofE Primary and Nursery School

St John's CofE Primary and Nursery School in Barnet stands out clearly against the local authority average for Key Stage 2 outcomes. In the 2023/24 academic year, 83% of its pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a Barnet average of 73%. That ten-point gap places the school in the top 20% of primaries nationally and 16th out of 80 in the borough. The school is also oversubscribed by a wide margin: for 2025/26 entry, it received 139 applications for just 28 places, with 39 families listing it as their first preference. That level of demand suggests local parents see the school as punching above its weight, particularly given that Barnet has 14 outstanding primaries to choose from. The headteacher, Curtis Sweetingham, leads a Church of England school that also offers nursery provision for children from age three.

Academic results at St John's are strong across the board. In reading, 90% of pupils met the expected standard and 52% reached the higher standard, with an average scaled score of 109. Maths saw 90% at the expected level and 48% at the higher level, with an average score of 108. Writing was slightly lower, with 86% at the expected standard and 14% at the higher level. The school's overall ranking score of 83 puts it in the top 10% of primaries nationally, and it sits 13th in Barnet's league table of 91 similar schools. Its most recent Ofsted inspection, an ungraded visit in July 2022, confirmed that the school remains Good, matching the rating it received in its previous graded inspection in 2012. Leadership and management were also judged Good. The school has no sixth form, as expected for a primary, but its nursery provision means children can start in the early years and stay through to Year 6.

The school is well equipped for a relatively small roll of 248 pupils, with facilities including an ICT suite, art studios, music rooms, a library, a sensory room, playing fields and a chapel. Sports on offer include swimming, cricket, athletics and rounders, while clubs range from book club and science club to gardening and chess. SEND provision covers specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, speech, language and communication needs, social, emotional and mental health support, multi-sensory impairment and autistic spectrum disorder. The school is oversubscribed, with a ratio of nearly five applications per place, so families should be prepared for a competitive admissions process. St John's will particularly suit families who value strong academic outcomes in a Church of England setting, who want nursery provision on site, and who are looking for a school that performs well above the local average without being in the outstanding category.

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