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St Aldhelms Church School

Primary · Shepton Mallet · BA4 4PL

Data updated

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Expected standard

Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)

The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.

Safeguarding: MetCurriculum & teaching: Expected standardAchievement: Expected standardAttendance & behaviour: Expected standardPersonal development: Expected standardInclusion: Expected standardLeadership & governance: Expected standardEarly years: Expected standardPost-16: Not applicable

Inspected 22 September 2026 · report published 19 October 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

176 pupils · 84% of 210 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
2–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Free school meals
13.3% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
10.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
11.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
3.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
www.staldhelms.co.uk/
URN
150030

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 24 families named it first for 25 Reception places, 0.96 first choices per place. At its report-card inspection on 22 September 2026, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Expected standard. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 4.1% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.96 first-choice applications per place

25 places offered · 24 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

24/25
25/26
26/27

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

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

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

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
64%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
5%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
105
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
102
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 school64%
Median of its 12 closest peers63%
Somerset average60.5%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is in line with 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
St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, ColchesterCOLCHESTER · 156 miles awayGood72%
St Michael's Woolmer Green CofE VA Primary SchoolWoolmer Green · 110 miles awayGood82%
Enfield Academy of New WalthamGrimsby · 191 miles awayGood50%
Dorney SchoolMaidenhead · 82 miles awayGood50%
The Bishop William Ward Church of England Primary SchoolColchester · 154 miles awayGood63%
Widmer End Community Combined SchoolHigh Wycombe · 84 miles awayGood74%
Bourn CofE Primary AcademyCambridge · 125 miles awayGood63%
High Meadow Community SchoolColeshill · 97 miles awayGood47%
Hermitage Primary SchoolThatcham · 57 miles awayGood60%
John Hellins Primary SchoolTowcester · 93 miles awayOutstanding93%
Baschurch CofE Primary SchoolShrewsbury · 112 miles awayGood71%
Lytham Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolLytham St. Annes · 178 miles awayRequires improvement55%

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 84% (Somerset 81%, England 60%) · Any other White background 6% (Somerset 6%, England 7%) · Black African 3% (Somerset 3%, England 5%) · Not recorded 3% (Somerset 2%, England 1%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Somerset 1%, England 3%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Somerset 1%, England 2%) · Asian Indian 1% (Somerset 2%, England 4%) · Any other Black background 1% (Somerset 0%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Somerset 1%, England 2%) · White Traveller of Irish heritage 1% (Somerset 0%, England 0%)

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)
4.1%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
5.9%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.60 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Somerset: 3.60 suspensions and 0.04 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
24.1
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

100% of teachers stayed at the school the following year

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

0% of teachers took sickness absence, 0 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 £51,284; 25% 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 (2024-25)

This school£5,772
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 81% (77%) · premises 3% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 11% (8%) · supplies and services 5% (9%) · educational supplies 3% (4%) · bought-in professional services 0% (2%) · catering 7% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £63,000; in-year balance +£70,000

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

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
6/10around the middle for England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher32.9%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications16.9%18.1%
In managerial or professional work35%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways12.3%18.1%
Residents in very good health48.9%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier82.4%62.3%
Social housing4.1%17.1%
Privately rented13.5%20.5%
Detached houses59.8%22.9%
Flats0.6%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms36.4%21.1%
Households with no car or van3.7%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01029021 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£358,50012 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£277,500–£385,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Semi-detached (5)£342,000
Terraced (5)£315,000

Homes around this school are dearer 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
4a rural school averages 3.4
Of those, serious or fatal
2a 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