High Bickington Church of England Primary Academy

Torridge · EX37 9AY

General information Primary School · 2-11 years Who goes here 84 pupils, 5.5% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 8.3% on SEN support Behaviour 4.5% absence rate Staff 6.5% turnover Financials £6,817 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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High Bickington Church of England Primary Academy

General Information

Address: High Bickington, Umberleigh, EX37 9AY – View on map
Phone: 01769560324
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Daniel Polak
Age range: 2-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 10 families put it first for 10 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

84 pupils out of 70 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 4
% eligible for free school meals: 5.5%
Pupil mix: 0 in 10 (less mixed than the Torridge average)
English as an additional language: 0% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 6.5% a year (Torridge 15.3%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 100% moved to another school, 0% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Devon: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 8 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 6 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Devon (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 4.5%
Persistently absent pupils: 13.9%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 8.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 2 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Physical disability: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card March 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong standard
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard
Early years Strong standard
Leadership and governance Expected standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2021). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 87% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 7% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 31 percentage points above the Torridge average (56%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (3-year average 73% against an expected 61%)
3-year average (expected standard): 73%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 87% · Writing 87% · Maths 87% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 53%
Average test scores: reading 108, maths 109
Based on: 15 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolTorridge averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 31 percentage points above the Torridge average (56%).

Year 6 SATs: 1st of 23 junior and primary schools in the area

#1High Bickington Church of England Primary Academy87%
#2Monkleigh Primary School80%
=3Appledore School79%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1High Bickington Church of England Primary Academy87%
#2Monkleigh Primary School80%
=3Appledore School79%
=3Hartland Primary School79%
#5Halwill Community Primary School75%
#6Bradworthy Primary Academy74%
#7Shebbear Community School70%
#8East-the-Water Community Primary School69%
=9Langtree Community School and Nursery Unit67%
=9Winkleigh Primary School67%
=11St Giles-on-the-Heath Community School57%
=11St Helen's Church of England School57%
=11St Mary's CofE Primary School57%
#14Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School52%
#15Parkham Primary School50%
=16Holsworthy Church of England Primary School46%
=16St Margaret's Church of England Junior School46%
#18Bridgerule Church of England Primary School43%
#19Clawton Primary School42%
=20West Croft School38%
=20Woolsery Primary School38%
#22Beaford Community Primary & Nursery School35%
#23Buckland Brewer Primary School33%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,817 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

17th of 24 primary schools in Torridge for spending per pupil

#15West Croft School£7,068
#16Clawton Primary School£7,032
#17High Bickington Church of England Primary Academy£6,817
#18East-the-Water Community Primary School£6,644
#19Bradworthy Primary Academy£6,644

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Black Torrington Church of England Primary School£29,429
#2Bradford Primary School£16,667
#3The Clinton Church of England Primary School£12,462
#4Buckland Brewer Primary School£10,573
#5Hartland Primary School£9,703
#6Dolton Church of England Primary School£9,692
#7Shebbear Community School£9,531
#8Halwill Community Primary School£9,192
#9Winkleigh Primary School£8,257
#10St Giles-on-the-Heath Community School£8,224
#11Great Torrington Bluecoat Church of England Primary School£8,029
#12Woolsery Primary School£7,857
#13Bridgerule Church of England Primary School£7,734
#14Monkleigh Primary School£7,349
#15West Croft School£7,068
#16Clawton Primary School£7,032
#17High Bickington Church of England Primary Academy£6,817
#18East-the-Water Community Primary School£6,644
#19Bradworthy Primary Academy£6,644
#20Holsworthy Church of England Primary School£6,628
#21Beaford Community Primary & Nursery School£6,321
#22St Mary's CofE Primary School£6,260
#23Appledore School£6,244
#24St Helen's Church of England School£4,942

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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