St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School
General Information
- Address: Oakfield Road, Bridgwater, TA6 7LX – View on map
- Phone: 01278422691
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Morwenna Dunstan
- Age range: 2-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 63 families put it first for 60 places – 11 for every 10 places. 94% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 9 · 2025 8 · 2026 11
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Church of England
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 37
- % eligible for free school meals: 8.7%
- Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (similar to the Somerset average)
- English as an additional language: 7% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 6.7% a year (Somerset 17.3%, typical in England 13.9%) Low turnover
- Where they went: about 41% moved to another school, 59% 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. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across Somerset: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 2 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 5 (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 Somerset, 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: 4.1%
- Persistently absent pupils: 6.5%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 8.0%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.7%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Social, emotional and mental health: 11 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 11 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 7 pupils
- SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 3 pupils
- Hearing impairment: 2 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2019 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 72% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 7% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 13 percentage points above the Somerset average (59%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 62% against an expected 67%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 62%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 79% · Writing 87% · Maths 90% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 79%
- Average test scores: reading 104, maths 105
- Based on: 61 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
Year 6 SATs: joint 31st of 149 junior and primary schools in the area
- =29St Gildas Catholic Primary School73%
- =31Kingsmoor Primary School72%
- =31St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School72%
- =31St Vigor & St John Church School72%
- =34Blackbrook Primary School71%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
105th of 152 primary schools in Somerset for Ofsted rating
- #103St Louis Catholic Primary School, FromeGood
- #104St Margaret's School, TintinhullGood
- #105St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary SchoolGood
- #106St Michael's Church of England First SchoolGood
- #107St Nicholas CofE Primary School, HenstridgeGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £6,188 (2024-25)
145th of 185 primary schools in Somerset for spending per pupil
- #143Neroche Primary School£6,220
- #144Lyngford Park Primary School£6,213
- #145St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School£6,188
- #146West Pennard Church of England Primary School£6,148
- #147Axbridge Church of England First School Academy£6,144
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)