St Paul's CofE Primary School

About St Paul's CofE Primary School

St Paul's CofE Primary School in Mole Valley is a state primary for children aged 5 to 11, currently home to 396 pupils against a capacity of 420. That leaves a small buffer of 24 places, but the real picture is one of significant demand. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 130 applications for 60 total places, with 69 families listing it as their first preference. That works out at an oversubscription ratio of 2.17, meaning more than two families competed for every spot. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals sits at 8.3%, which is notably lower than the national average for primary schools, suggesting a relatively affluent catchment. The school is Church of England, though the data doesn't specify whether faith criteria influence admissions. Headteacher Gary Papworth leads a school that clearly commands strong local loyalty, with first-preference offers matching the total places available at 60.

Academically, St Paul's holds a Good rating from its most recent Ofsted inspection in June 2024, a step down from the Outstanding it achieved in 2013. The inspection breakdown shows a mixed picture: personal development was rated Outstanding, while quality of education, early years provision, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management all came in at Good. The local authority average for Key Stage 2 attainment in Surrey is 66%, which provides a useful benchmark, though the school's own KS2 results are not included in this data. The school's top peer in the area is South Farnham School, which scores 100 on the ranking metric, followed by The Raleigh School at 94 and Cardinal Newman Catholic Primary at 93. St Paul's doesn't appear in that top tier, but its Good rating places it among the majority of Surrey's 298 primary schools, 33 of which hold Outstanding status.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a sports hall, playing fields, an ICT suite, a sensory room, and a chapel. Sports provision covers cricket, gymnastics, cross country, and athletics, while extracurricular clubs include drama, choir, and film club. SEND support is broad, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. There is no nursery provision and no sixth form, as expected for a primary. This is a school that suits families who value a Church of England foundation, strong personal development, and a well-equipped site, but who are prepared for a competitive admissions process. The oversubscription data suggests that securing a place requires a first-preference application and possibly proximity or faith criteria, depending on the school's admissions policy.

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