St Mary's Church of England Academy

About St Mary's Church of England Academy

Parents considering St Mary’s Church of England Academy will want to know that it is a popular school, with 96 applications for 56 places in the 2025/26 admissions round, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.71. Of those, 53 families put it as their first preference, and 53 first-preference offers were made. That level of demand suggests the school has a strong local reputation, even though its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024 rated overall effectiveness as Requires Improvement. The parent view data isn’t available here, but the oversubscription figures alone tell you that many families in West Suffolk actively choose this school. It’s a state primary for mixed genders aged 4 to 11, with a Church of England character, and the headteacher is Roxanne Rutter. The school has 405 pupils on roll against a capacity of 420, so it is running very close to full.

Academically, the picture is mixed. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 47% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is below the Suffolk local authority average of 58%. The school ranks 36th out of 44 primary schools in West Suffolk on this measure, placing it in the bottom half locally and the bottom 50% nationally. Looking at individual subjects, 62% met the expected standard in reading, 64% in writing, and 59% in maths. Higher standard attainment is low: just 2% achieved the higher standard in all three subjects, 12% in reading, 12% in maths, and 5% in writing. Average scores were 101 in reading and 100 in maths. Progress scores are not available, so it’s hard to say how much value the school adds, but the raw outcomes are below average for the area.

On the practical side, St Mary’s offers a good range of facilities including a library, ICT suite, art studios, music rooms, a sports hall, playing fields, a forest school area, and a chapel. Sports on offer include gymnastics, dance, athletics, football and cricket, and there are clubs for art, drama and coding. The school has a broad SEND offer, with provisions for dyslexia, speech and language needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disabilities, autistic spectrum disorder, and social, emotional and mental health needs. This makes it a potentially strong choice for families whose children require additional support. The school is oversubscribed, so applying early and as a first preference is advisable. It will suit families who value a Church of England setting, a full range of facilities, and a school that is clearly popular locally, even if its academic results are currently below the Suffolk average.

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