St Mary's Church of England Primary School

About St Mary's Church of England Primary School

St Mary’s Church of England Primary School is a small, state-funded primary in South Hams, Devon, currently teaching 93 pupils against a capacity of 105. That leaves a little breathing room, but the school is clearly in demand: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 27 applications for just 12 places, with 11 of those going to first-preference families. The oversubscription ratio sits at 2.25, meaning more than two families applied for every spot. The pupil body is notably diverse in terms of disadvantage — 20.4% of children qualify for free school meals, which is higher than the national average for primary schools (typically around 23-24%) and suggests the school serves a genuine cross-section of the local community. As a Church of England school, it has a religious character, though the data doesn’t specify whether this affects admissions criteria. The headteacher is Martin Harding, and the school operates as a mixed-gender primary for children aged 4 to 11.

Academically, St Mary’s performs well above the local authority average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 tests, 79% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a Devon LA average of 57%. That places the school 8th out of 35 primaries in South Hams, and in the top 25% nationally. Reading scores are a particular strength: the average scaled score was 106, with 32% of pupils reaching the higher standard. Maths also averaged 103, though only 5% hit the higher threshold. Progress scores aren’t available in the data, so it’s hard to say how much value the school adds relative to starting points. Ofsted’s most recent inspection in March 2025 rated the school Good overall, with personal development judged Outstanding. Behaviour and attitudes, quality of education, early years provision, and leadership and management were all rated Good. The previous inspection in 2014 had awarded Outstanding across the board, so this represents a slight downgrade, but the current report is still strong.

Parents are overwhelmingly positive. In the most recent Parent View survey, 100% of respondents would recommend the school, and 83% strongly agreed that their child is happy there. The school offers a range of facilities including a library, sports hall, ICT suite, sensory room and chapel, plus clubs like film club, chess and choir. Sports include rounders, football, athletics and cricket. For SEND, the school lists provisions for dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health, speech and language needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. With its strong academic results, high parental satisfaction and clear oversubscription, St Mary’s is a popular choice for families in the South Hams area who want a Church of England primary with a strong community feel and good outcomes.

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