Upton Noble CofE VC Primary School

About Upton Noble CofE VC Primary School

Upton Noble CofE VC Primary School was rated Good in its most recent Ofsted inspection in October 2024, with inspectors awarding Good across every category they assessed: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The school has held a Good rating consistently, as its previous inspection in 2019 also judged overall effectiveness as Good. On the key academic metric for primary schools, 58% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year. That figure sits just one percentage point below the Somerset local authority average of 59%, placing Upton Noble 71st out of 134 primary schools in the county. Nationally, the school ranks in the 61st percentile among all primary schools, suggesting a solidly middle-of-the-road performance rather than standout results.

Looking deeper at the individual subject scores, reading and writing both saw 71% of pupils reach the expected standard, while maths was higher at 79%. At the higher standard, 13% of pupils achieved the top level across all three subjects, with reading and maths each seeing 25% of pupils reaching that higher threshold. Average scaled scores were 105 in reading and 104 in maths, both slightly above the national benchmark of 100. The school does not publish progress scores for reading, writing or maths, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. Parent feedback is overwhelmingly positive: in the most recent Parent View survey, 100% of the 23 respondents would recommend the school, and 91% strongly agreed that their child feels safe there. Every parent agreed that their child is happy at the school.

The school is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary for children aged 2 to 11, with nursery provision on site. It has capacity for 180 pupils but currently enrols 146, and 13% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, slightly below the national average. For the 2025/26 intake, the school was oversubscribed: 29 families applied for 13 places, with all 13 first-preference applicants offered a spot, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.23. Facilities include a library, outdoor playground, playing fields, art studios, a sensory room, gymnasium, forest school, sports hall and chapel. Sports on offer include rounders, tennis, gymnastics, cricket and swimming, while clubs range from chess and book club to drama and science club. The school supports pupils with moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and physical disabilities. This is a well-regarded village primary that suits families seeking a small, Church of England setting with strong pastoral care and a good range of enrichment activities, though academic results are broadly in line with local averages rather than exceptional.

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