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The Priory Church of England School

Secondary · Dorking · RH4 3DG

Data updated

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Not yet graded

No graded inspection outcome is available for this school under either the current or the previous framework. This is common for recently opened or converted schools.

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At a glance

598 pupils · 60% of 1,000 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
17.7% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
6.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
12.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
8.2% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
http://thepriorycofe.com/
URN
149318

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 61 families named it first for 104 Year 7 places, 0.59 first choices per place. We hold 8 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2019 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 9.9% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.59 first-choice applications per place

104 places offered · 61 first-choice applications · usually has places

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Cutoff by admission criterion (2024 entry)

Criterion 6 (Students who would like to attend this Church of England school but who do not qualify in categories 1 - 5)
11.61 km (≈7.21 mi)

2024 is the most recent year we hold a cutoff for this school. It describes that year, not 2026.

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One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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

GCSE results (2024/2025)

113 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
40.1
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
53.1%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
31%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
3.4
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

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

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school40.1
Median of its 12 closest peers44.2
Surrey average51.4
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind 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.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Middlewich High SchoolMiddlewich · 162 miles awayGood41.2
Chetwynde SchoolBarrow-in-Furness · 234 miles awayGood44.2
Henlow Church of England AcademyHenlow · 56 miles awayGood42.7
The Macclesfield AcademyMacclesfield · 159 miles awayRequires improvement42.7
Thomas Keble SchoolStroud · 86 miles awayGood47.6
Portchester Community SchoolFareham · 43 miles awayGood41.8
The Trafalgar School at DowntonSalisbury · 64 miles awayGood44.3
King David High SchoolLiverpool · 185 miles awayGood54.3
Broadwater SchoolGodalming · 11 miles awayGood55.9
Robert Barclay AcademyHoddesdon · 39 miles awayGood44.2
Sybil Andrews AcademyBury St. Edmunds · 85 miles awayGood49.5
Chapel-en-le-Frith High SchoolHigh Peak · 159 miles awayGood43.8

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 85% (Surrey 65%, England 59%) · Any other White background 4% (Surrey 9%, England 7%) · Asian Indian 2% (Surrey 3%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Surrey 1%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (Surrey 3%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Surrey 3%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Surrey 3%, England 3%) · Not recorded 1% (Surrey 2%, England 2%) · White Gypsy/Roma 1% (Surrey 0%, England 0%) · other groups together 2%

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)
9.9%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
29.5%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

22.35 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Surrey: 14.09 suspensions and 0.15 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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
20.7
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

64% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 10% moved to another state school · 26% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

61.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 7.6 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 £53,778; 16.7% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£7,772
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 73% (77%) · premises 6% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 6% (6%) · supplies and services 15% (11%) · educational supplies 8% (6%) · bought-in professional services 6% (1%) · catering 1% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £851,000; in-year balance +£45,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
92%
Continuing in education
85%
Apprenticeship
3%
Employment
3%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher50.3%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications9.7%18.1%
In managerial or professional work46.6%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways10.8%18.1%
Residents in very good health56.2%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier69.2%62.3%
Social housing9.2%17.1%
Privately rented21.4%20.5%
Detached houses21.6%22.9%
Flats35.1%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms28.8%21.1%
Households with no car or van14.2%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01030535 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£410,000260 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£276,500–£631,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (37)£895,000
Semi-detached (50)£537,500
Terraced (64)£437,500
Flat (109)£260,000

Homes around this school are dearer than three quarters of 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
2an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
4an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
11an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
1an urban school averages 6.1

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