Thurston Church of England Primary Academy

About Thurston Church of England Primary Academy

Thurston Church of England Primary Academy holds a Good rating from Ofsted following its most recent inspection in November 2024, with every graded category — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, early years provision, and leadership and management — all rated Good. The school’s most telling exam metric is its Key Stage 2 combined reading, writing and maths expected standard attainment: 60% of pupils reached this benchmark in the 2023/24 academic year. That figure sits just above the Suffolk local authority average of 58%, placing Thurston in the middle of the pack locally. It ranks 22nd out of 39 primary schools in Mid Suffolk and 119th out of 253 across the wider Suffolk authority. The school’s ranking score of 60 places it in the bottom half nationally, but the context matters — this is a school serving a community where just under one in five pupils (19.9%) are eligible for free school meals, which is above the national average.

Looking more closely at the individual subject scores, Thurston’s pupils performed strongest in maths, where 73% met the expected standard and 33% reached the higher standard, with an average scaled score of 104. Reading and writing both saw 71% and 73% of pupils respectively hitting the expected mark, though higher-standard attainment was lower in writing (12%) than in reading (23%). The school’s average scaled scores for reading and maths both sit at 104, which is in line with the national average of 104. There are no progress scores available in the data, so it’s not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points. Ofsted’s inspection report, published in December 2024, will likely offer more detail on this. The Parent View survey, covering September 2024 to September 2025, shows strong satisfaction: 93% of the 58 respondents would recommend the school, and 95% agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy there.

The school has a Church of England religious character and is led by headteacher John Bayes. It has capacity for 420 pupils but currently enrols 336, so there is some room for growth. For the 2025/26 intake, the school was oversubscribed: 91 applications for 52 places, with 51 of those coming as first preferences. That’s a ratio of 1.75 applicants per place, so securing a spot is competitive. Facilities include a sensory room, library, playing fields, gymnasium, art studios and a chapel. The school offers a broad range of clubs — coding, film, eco, book, art and drama — and sports including athletics, tennis, football and cricket. SEND provision is well developed, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language needs, hearing impairment, and social, emotional and mental health support. This is a solid, well-regarded village primary that suits families who value a church school ethos, strong pastoral care, and a good range of extracurricular opportunities.

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