Sheerhatch Primary School
Willington Road, Cople, Bedford, MK44 3TH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Cheryl Williams
- Constituency
- North Bedfordshire
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 129
- URN
- 109442
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01234838827
About this school
Sheerhatch Primary School is a community primary school in Bedford. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 129 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Sheerhatch Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Early years
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 21 | 18 | 16 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 38% | 39% | 50% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 67% | 72% | 81% |
| Expected standard in maths | 67% | 50% | 56% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 76% | 72% | 81% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 105.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 101.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -5.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.80 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Sheerhatch Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Bedford average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 38% | 50.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 39% | 53.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 50% | 52.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 125 |
| 2023/24 | 124 |
| 2024/25 | 127 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Sheerhatch Primary School compares
Sheerhatch Primary School ranked 36th of 51 primary schools in Bedford for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50% | 6.5% | 19.7% | 129 | — |
| Shortstown Primary School | 60% | 4.2% | 27.1% | 479 | 2.0 miles |
| Goldington Green Academy | 62% | 6.2% | 35.2% | 576 | 2.1 miles |
| Cotton End Forest School | 77% | 4.7% | 17.7% | 435 | 2.3 miles |
| Moggerhanger Primary School | 62% | 4.1% | 15.6% | 119 | 2.5 miles |
| King's Oak Primary School | 61% | 6% | 42.2% | 826 | 2.6 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report6 January 2026
- 18 November 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 19.69%
- English as an additional language
- 7.1%
- Overall absence
- 6.51%
- Persistent absence
- 14.66%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Shortstown Primary School2.0 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Goldington Green Academy2.1 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Cotton End Forest School2.3 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Moggerhanger Primary School2.5 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
King's Oak Primary School2.6 miles
Primary · Bedford
Other schools in Bedford
Sheerhatch Primary School ranks 36th of the 53 ranked primary schools in Bedford.
- Balliol Primary School Primary
- Bedford Road Primary Academy Primary
- Brickhill Primary School Primary
- Broadmead Lower School Primary
- Bromham CofE Primary School Primary
- Camestone School Primary
- Carlton CofE Primary School Primary
- Castle Newnham School Primary
- Cauldwell School Primary
- Cotton End Forest School Primary
- Cranfield Church of England Academy Primary
- Edith Cavell Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Sheerhatch Primary School teach?
- Sheerhatch Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Bedford.
- Who is the headteacher of Sheerhatch Primary School?
- The headteacher of Sheerhatch Primary School is Mrs Cheryl Williams, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Sheerhatch Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sheerhatch Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Sheerhatch Primary School?
- Sheerhatch Primary School has 129 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Sheerhatch Primary School full?
- Sheerhatch Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 129 on roll (61%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Sheerhatch Primary School a faith school?
- No. Sheerhatch Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Sheerhatch Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Sheerhatch Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Sheerhatch Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 38% in 2022/23 and 50% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Sheerhatch Primary School compare with other schools in Bedford?
- Sheerhatch Primary School ranked 36th of 51 primary schools in Bedford for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Sheerhatch Primary School's absence rate?
- Sheerhatch Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Sheerhatch Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Sheerhatch Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.