St Mary's CofE Primary School

About St Mary's CofE Primary School

St Mary's CofE Primary School is a Church of England state primary in Bath and North East Somerset, led by headteacher Michelle Parsons. It sits among 63 primary schools in the local authority, where only seven hold an Outstanding rating from Ofsted. St Mary's is one of them, following a remarkable turnaround from its previous inspection in 2019, when it was rated Inadequate overall. In its most recent graded inspection in October 2024, the school received Outstanding in every category judged: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The nearest other Outstanding-rated primary is High Littleton CofE VC Primary School, about 2.9 km away. Within the LA, the top-performing peers on the KS2 expected standard metric are Freshford Church School, St Julian's Church School, and Shoscombe Church School. St Mary's itself ranks 29th out of 52 primaries in the LA on that measure, placing it in the bottom half of local schools, though its overall Ofsted rating tells a different story about the quality of its provision.

Academically, St Mary's KS2 results for the 2023/24 academic year show 61% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That is just one percentage point below the LA average of 62%. Broken down by subject, 74% met the expected standard in reading, 65% in maths, and 87% in writing. At the higher standard, 13% achieved the combined measure, with 22% reaching that level in reading and maths, and 17% in writing. Average scaled scores were 105 in reading and 104 in maths. Nationally, the school ranks 7,350th out of 13,686 primaries on the combined expected standard metric, placing it in the 54th percentile. In the South West region, it ranks 697th out of 1,469 schools. While these results are solid rather than exceptional, the school's Ofsted Outstanding rating reflects strong performance across behaviour, personal development, and leadership, which may matter more to some families than raw test scores.

The school has capacity for 210 pupils but currently enrols 155, with 26.4% eligible for free school meals. It offers nursery provision for children from age two. For the 2025/26 intake, St Mary's was oversubscribed: 35 applications for 26 places, with all 26 first-preference applicants offered a spot, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.35. Facilities include a sensory room, music rooms, a sports hall, ICT suite, playing fields, forest school, library, art studios, and a chapel. Sports on offer are gymnastics, rounders, dance, swimming, and cross country, while clubs include film club, choir, coding, drama, and science club. The school has SEND provisions for moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses from 64 families in the 2024/25 period were overwhelmingly positive: 92% would recommend the school, 94% agreed or strongly agreed their child is happy, and 96% felt their child is safe. This is a small, church-affiliated primary that has clearly rebuilt its reputation and suits families who value a strong pastoral environment and broad enrichment alongside solid academic foundations.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About St Mary's CofE Primary School

Helpful Guides for Parents