St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Burnham-on-Crouch

About St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Burnham-on-Crouch

Parents considering St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School in Burnham-on-Crouch will find a school that is clearly in demand. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 112 applications for just 30 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.73, meaning nearly four families applied for every spot. Of those, 42 put St Mary's as their first preference, and 28 first-preference offers were made. This level of competition suggests a strong local reputation, though the school does not publish a parent-view recommendation percentage to confirm this directly. The school is a state-funded primary for mixed-gender pupils aged 4 to 11, with a Church of England religious character, and it is currently full to its capacity of 240 pupils. The headteacher is Anna Macartney, and the school sits within the Maldon borough of Essex.

Academically, St Mary's performs well above the local authority average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 77% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with an Essex average of 62%. This places the school 4th out of 17 primary schools in the Maldon local authority area, putting it in the top 25% nationally. The school's overall ranking score of 77 reflects strong results, with particularly high attainment in maths, where the average scaled score was 106 and 83% of pupils met the expected standard. In reading, 80% reached the expected standard, and in writing it was 83%. At the higher standard, 7% of pupils achieved in all three subjects. The school's most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022 rated it Good overall, with Good for leadership and management, early years provision, and behaviour and attitudes. This marks a clear improvement from its previous 2014 inspection, which rated the school as Requires Improvement.

The school offers a range of facilities including an ICT suite, dining hall, gymnasium, sports hall and a chapel. Sports on offer include rounders, gymnastics, dance, athletics and cricket, while clubs extend to art, science, film, chess and drama. For pupils with additional needs, St Mary's provides support for moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, physical disabilities, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties. The school does not have a nursery or sixth form. Given its oversubscription, families living closest to the school or with a church connection are likely to have the strongest chance of securing a place. For those who miss out, the nearest Outstanding-rated alternative is Burnham-on-Crouch Primary School, just 0.9 km away. This school suits families who value strong academic outcomes within a faith-based setting and who are prepared for a competitive admissions process.

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