St Lawrence's CofE Primary School

About St Lawrence's CofE Primary School

St Lawrence’s CofE Primary School in Somerset is a small Church of England primary that clearly appeals to local families. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 13 applications for just 10 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.3, and all 10 first-preference applicants were offered a spot. That level of demand suggests parents who get a place tend to be satisfied — though the school’s parent view data isn’t available in this dataset, the fact it’s oversubscribed is a strong practical signal. With just 52 pupils on roll against a capacity of 90, the school is running well below its maximum, which means class sizes are small and children are likely to get plenty of individual attention. Headteacher Sharon Foxall leads a Good-rated school, a rating it has held across both its most recent Ofsted inspections, with the latest graded inspection in March 2023 awarding Good across every category: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision.

Academically, St Lawrence’s performs solidly against local benchmarks. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 67% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — that’s above the Somerset local authority average of 59%. The school also does well at the higher standard, with 17% of pupils achieving greater depth across all three subjects. Reading is a particular strength: 83% met the expected standard and 33% hit the higher threshold, while the average reading score was 106. Maths and writing both saw 67% at expected and 17% at higher, with an average maths score of 102. These results place St Lawrence’s 47th out of 134 primary schools in Somerset, putting it in the top 50 tier locally and in the top 35% of schools in the South West region nationally. Progress scores aren’t available in this data, so it’s not possible to say how much value the school adds, but the raw outcomes are comfortably above the county average.

The school offers a practical range of facilities including a sports hall, gymnasium, playing fields, ICT suite and a chapel, and runs clubs like Eco Club, Coding and Chess. Sports on offer include netball, tennis, athletics, swimming and dance. For children with additional needs, St Lawrence’s has identified provisions for moderate learning difficulties and social, emotional and mental health needs. The school is a state-funded primary for mixed-gender pupils aged 4 to 11, with no nursery or sixth form. Given its small size, strong local reputation and above-average results, St Lawrence’s is a good fit for families who want a close-knit, faith-based primary with a clear academic track record, especially those who can secure a place in a competitive but not impossible admissions round.

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