St Lawrence Primary School

About St Lawrence Primary School

St Lawrence Primary School in Guildford was rated Good in its most recent graded Ofsted inspection in 2017, and an ungraded visit in 2023 confirmed the school remains Good. That marks a clear improvement from its previous graded inspection in 2014, when it was judged to require improvement overall. The most telling exam metric for this primary school is the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which stood at 58% in the 2023/24 academic year. That figure is below the Surrey local authority average of 66%, placing St Lawrence 144th out of 298 primary schools in the county. In the Guildford local area specifically, the school ranks 13th out of 19 primaries, putting it in the bottom half of its immediate neighbours. The school's ranking score of 58 places it in the bottom 50% nationally, though it is worth noting that the school serves a community where 16.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, slightly above the national average.

Looking more closely at the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, the school's strongest subject was reading, where 83% of pupils met the expected standard and the average score was 106. In maths, 71% reached the expected standard with an average score of 105, while writing saw 71% at the expected level. The proportion of pupils reaching the higher standard across all three subjects was just 8%, which is low compared with the top-performing schools in Surrey such as South Farnham School and The Raleigh School, both of which sit at the top of the county rankings. The school's early years provision was rated Good in the 2017 inspection, and leadership and management also received a Good grade. There are no progress scores available in the data, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points, but the overall picture is of a school that has stabilised after its previous requires improvement rating and is now delivering solid, if not outstanding, outcomes.

St Lawrence is a smaller-than-average primary with 179 pupils against a capacity of 210, and it is oversubscribed: for 29 places in the 2025/26 intake, the school received 96 applications, with 20 first-preference offers made. That gives an oversubscription ratio of 3.31, meaning competition for places is significant. The school offers a range of facilities including a music room, sensory room, ICT suite, sports hall, dining hall, outdoor playground and a chapel. Sports on offer include athletics, dance, football and tennis, while clubs extend to eco club, drama, coding and film club. For children with additional needs, the school has identified provisions for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, visual impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. This is a school that suits families looking for a Good-rated, community-focused primary in Guildford that has improved its Ofsted grade and offers a broad range of enrichment activities, but where academic results sit below the local average.

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