SchoolFacts.uk

Sopley Primary School

Primary · Christchurch · BH23 8ET

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Good

Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection

Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Good. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.

Inspected 8 February 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

71 pupils · 60% of 118 capacity

School type
Community school
Age range
4–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
21.1% of pupils
English as additional language
7% of pupils
SEN support
13.9% of pupils
EHC plan
4.7% of pupils
Website
https://www.burleyandsopleyfederation.org.uk/
URN
115948

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.00 first-choice applications per place

12 places offered · 12 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Applications and offers on national offer day, DfE. A ratio above 1.00 means more families named this school first choice than there were places.

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

13 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
38%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
0%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
104
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
99
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025. “Suppressed” means the DfE withholds figures for very small cohorts.

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school38%
Median of its 12 closest peers53%
Hampshire average63.6%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

The twelve below are matched on intake alone, from every state school in England, so most are not local. They are the evidence behind the comparison above, not a shortlist. For schools you could realistically apply to, see nearby schools.

SchoolOfstedResult
Margaretting Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolIngatestone · 113 miles awayGood80%
St Edmund's Primary SchoolEye · 167 miles awayGood (2019)63%
Bickerstaffe CofE Primary School and NurseryOrmskirk · 195 miles awayGood43%
Harby Church of England Primary SchoolMelton Mowbray · 149 miles awayGood64%
Slindon CofE Primary SchoolArundel · 50 miles awayGood38%
Sharow Church of England Primary SchoolRipon · 232 miles awayGood31%
Summerbridge Primary SchoolHarrogate · 226 miles awayGood27%
Chailey St Peter's Church of England Primary SchoolLewes · 77 miles awayGood27%
St Benet's RC Primary School and NurseryBeccles · 184 miles awayNeeds attention38%
Four Elms Primary SchoolEdenbridge · 87 miles awayGood100%
St Mary's Broughton Gifford Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary SchoolMelksham · 44 miles awayGood86%
Exton and Greetham CofE Primary SchoolOakham · 140 miles awayGood73%

The 12 state schools in England whose intake most closely matches this one: same phase and admissions type, and as near as the data allows on size, free school meals, English as an additional language, SEN and the child poverty of the surrounding area (IDACI 2025). Matching uses only characteristics a school does not choose. It is not a ranking, and a close match on intake does not make two schools interchangeable: sixth form, faith character, admissions rules and plain geography all matter and are not in the calculation. Results: DfE performance tables, 2024/2025. How the matching works.

Attendance (2025/26 autumn term)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
4.9%
England 6.5%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
12.5%
England 18.1%

Autumn-term absence, DfE pupil absence data. Lower is better.

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
16.1
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

School Workforce Census, DfE. The ratio counts full-time-equivalent qualified teachers; retention follows teachers in post one November to the next. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Spending per pupil

This school£8,616
Typical primary school£6,959

Total expenditure ÷ pupils, council-maintained school finance return (DfE Schools Financial Benchmarking, latest year). Higher spending is not a measure of quality. It often reflects greater pupil need or a smaller school. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Inspection history since 2015

Ofsted management information. Ungraded and monitoring visits do not award a new grade. How the two inspection systems work.

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
7/10less deprived than most of England

English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG), decile of the small area the school stands in: 1 is the most deprived tenth of England, 10 the least. IDACI counts only children in low-income families, which is the measure closest to the intake a school is likely to draw on.

Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher36.7%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications12.4%18.1%
In managerial or professional work42.5%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways9.3%18.1%
Residents in very good health55.7%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier75.1%62.3%
Social housing5.3%17.1%
Privately rented19.6%20.5%
Detached houses68%22.9%
Flats2.4%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms44.9%21.1%
Households with no car or van2.4%23.5%

Census 2021 (ONS) for statistical area E01023063 (a lower layer super output area), the neighbourhood of roughly 1,189 adults that the school stands in. These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Children travel in from further away, and for selective, faith and some other schools usually much further. Open Government Licence v3.0.

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£529,50034 sales within 2 km, January 2024 to July 2026
Typical range
£386,000–£727,500the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (27)£622,000
Semi-detached (5)£368,000

Homes around this school are dearer than three quarters of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 2 km across every state school.

Fewer than ten homes sold within 1 km, so the figures use 2 km.

Every residential sale registered with HM Land Registry within 2 km of the school (straight line) since January 2024, market sales of houses and flats only. A sale is dated by completion and registered weeks later, so the most recent months are incomplete. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

No collision was reported to the police within 500 m of the school in 2021–2025.

Child pedestrian casualties
0an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
0an urban school averages 5.8
All reported collisions
0an urban school averages 30.6
Of those, serious or fatal
0an urban school averages 6.1

Every collision reported to the police within 500 m of the school in 2021–2025, from the Department for Transport's road casualty statistics (STATS19). "Child pedestrians" counts casualties aged under 16 on foot; "school-run times" means weekdays 07:30–09:00 and 15:00–16:30 outside August. A high count usually says the school sits on or near a busy road, not that the school is unsafe: counts rise with traffic and with how built-up an area is, which is why the comparison is with other urban schools. Distances are straight-line from the school's recorded position. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Nearby schools