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St Mary's CofE Primary School

Primary · Bucknell · SY7 0AA

Data updated

⇄ Compare with another school
Good

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 11 February 2025

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

55 pupils · 98% of 56 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary aided school
Age range
2–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Free school meals
32.7% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
1.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
22.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
0% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
bhf.shropshire.sch.uk
URN
123537

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 3 families named it first for 3 Reception places, 1.00 first choices per place. We hold 6 Reception admissions rounds for it, 2020 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. At its inspection on 11 February 2025 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

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

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
67%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
17%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
109
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
105
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

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

This school67%
Median of its 12 closest peers50%
Shropshire average58.7%
England62%

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

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Fourlanesend Community Primary SchoolTorpoint · 150 miles awayGood45%
Kelling CE Primary SchoolKelling · 175 miles awayGood17%
New Holland Church of England and Methodist Primary SchoolBarrow-upon-Humber · 142 miles awayExpected standard50%
Ramshaw Primary SchoolBishop Auckland · 164 miles awayGood64%
Leintwardine Endowed CE Primary SchoolCraven Arms · 3 miles awayGood50%
Ford End Church of England Primary SchoolChelmsford · 148 miles awayGood64%
St Chad's Catholic Primary School, Witton ParkBishop Auckland · 167 miles awayGood67%
Brookland Church of England Primary SchoolRomney Marsh · 187 miles awayGood67%
Firle Church of England Primary SchoolLewes · 167 miles awayRequires improvement14%
Cockwood Primary SchoolExeter · 122 miles awayGood73%
Shobdon Primary SchoolLeominster · 8 miles awayGood50%
St Buryan Primary SchoolPenzance · 196 miles awayGood50%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 93% (Shropshire 87%, England 60%) · Not recorded 4% (Shropshire 1%, England 1%) · Asian Chinese 2% (Shropshire 0%, England 1%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Shropshire 1%, England 3%)

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
20%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.00 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Shropshire: 1.89 suspensions and 0.02 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
12.6
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained primaries: 0.18% vacant, 0.36% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

57.1% of teachers took sickness absence, 3 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £50,493; 14.3% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£12,910
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 77% (76%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 7% (8%) · supplies and services 9% (9%) · educational supplies 7% (4%) · bought-in professional services 3% (3%) · catering 3% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £42,277; in-year balance -£39,151

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher34.8%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications14.4%18.1%
In managerial or professional work35.7%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways15.2%18.1%
Residents in very good health43.1%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier71.4%62.3%
Social housing13.4%17.1%
Privately rented15.2%20.5%
Detached houses63.3%22.9%
Flats1.5%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms26.4%21.1%
Households with no car or van6.9%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01028994 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£253,50034 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£216,000–£404,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (20)£355,000
Semi-detached (10)£235,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. 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

Child pedestrian casualties
0a rural school averages 0.3
Collisions at school-run times
0a rural school averages 0.7
All reported collisions
1a rural school averages 3.4
Of those, serious or fatal
1a rural school averages 0.9

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools