SchoolFacts.uk

Pencombe CofE Primary School

Primary · Bromyard · HR7 4SH

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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 10 April 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

61 pupils · 109% of 56 capacity (over capacity)

School type
Voluntary aided school
Age range
2–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Free school meals
22.2% of pupils
English as additional language
6.3% of pupils
SEN support
18.8% of pupils
EHC plan
1.6% of pupils
Nursery
Yes
Website
pencombe.hmfa.org.uk
URN
116907

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.00 first-choice applications per place

8 places offered · 8 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
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)

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

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
82%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
9%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
109
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
108
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 school82%
Median of its 12 closest peers60.5%
Herefordshire, County of average65.1%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is ahead of 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
Redmile Church of England Primary SchoolNottingham · 90 miles awayGood (2019)63%
Fylingdales Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolWhitby · 177 miles awayGood40%
Butterknowle Primary SchoolBishop Auckland · 172 miles awayNeeds attention29%
Surlingham Primary SchoolNorwich · 171 miles awayGood89%
Shebbear Community SchoolBeaworthy · 114 miles awayGood70%
Clifton upon Teme Primary SchoolWorcester · 9 miles awayGood50%
Middleton-In-Teesdale AcademyBarnard Castle · 171 miles awayInadequate58%
Inskip St Peter's Church of England Voluntary Aided SchoolPreston · 115 miles awayGood69%
Parkham Primary SchoolBideford · 111 miles awayExpected standard50%
South Kilworth Church of England Primary SchoolLutterworth · 65 miles awayGood80%
Stoke St Gregory Church of England Primary SchoolTaunton · 80 miles awayRequires improvement100%
Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolBury St Edmunds · 147 miles awayGood50%

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)
3.5%
England 6.5%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
6.2%
England 18.1%

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

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
10.3
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£8,475
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)
7/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
5/10around the middle for 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 higher33.3%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications17.3%18.1%
In managerial or professional work33.2%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways13%18.1%
Residents in very good health43.9%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier75.8%62.3%
Social housing8.4%17.1%
Privately rented15.8%20.5%
Detached houses70.7%22.9%
Flats4%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms32.8%21.1%
Households with no car or van4.9%23.5%

Census 2021 (ONS) for statistical area E01014004 (a lower layer super output area), the neighbourhood of roughly 1,269 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.

Roads around the school

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

Child pedestrian casualties
0a rural school averages 0.3
Collisions at school-run times
0a rural school averages 0.7
All reported collisions
0a rural school averages 3.4
Of those, serious or fatal
0a rural school averages 0.9

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 rural schools. Distances are straight-line from the school's recorded position. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Nearby schools