St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School
Ivel Road, Sandy, SG19 1AX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Anita Whitehurst
- Diocese
- Diocese of St Albans
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Federation
- The Riverbank Federation
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- North Bedfordshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 270
- Pupils on roll
- 172
- URN
- 109604
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01767680692
About this school
St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Sandy. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 172 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Swithun's Church of England VC 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 8 December 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 26 | 27 | 26 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 46% | 41% | 38% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 4% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% | 74% | 50% |
| Expected standard in maths | 50% | 44% | 42% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 54% | 52% | 50% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 98.0 | 100.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -7.20 | - | - |
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 St Swithun's Church of England VC 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 | Central Bedfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46% | 47.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 41% | 49.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 38% | 49.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 224 |
| 2023/24 | 227 |
| 2024/25 | 196 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School compares
St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School ranked 41st of 48 primary schools in Central Bedfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 38% | 5.8% | 18% | 172 | — |
| Robert Peel Primary School | 57% | 5.3% | 28.7% | 386 | 0.5 miles |
| Laburnum Primary School | 63% | 5.8% | 24.3% | 174 | 0.5 miles |
| Maple Tree Primary School | 71% | 4% | 11.2% | 241 | 1.1 miles |
| John Donne Church of England Primary School | 29% | 5.5% | 17.4% | 119 | 2.0 miles |
| Moggerhanger Primary School | 62% | 4.1% | 15.6% | 119 | 2.0 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 17.98%
- English as an additional language
- 2.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.83%
- Persistent absence
- 11.45%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Robert Peel Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Sandy
-
Laburnum Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Sandy
-
Maple Tree Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Sandy
-
John Donne Church of England Primary School2.0 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Moggerhanger Primary School2.0 miles
Primary · Bedford
Other schools in Sandy
St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School ranks 7th of the 7 ranked primary schools in Sandy.
- Barnabas Oley CofE Primary School Primary
- Gamlingay Village Primary Primary
- Laburnum Primary School Primary
- Maple Tree Primary School Primary
- Potton Primary School Primary
- Robert Peel Primary School Primary
- Wrestlingworth CofE Infant School Primary
- Sandy Secondary School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School teach?
- St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Sandy.
- Who is the headteacher of St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School is Mrs Anita Whitehurst, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Swithun's Church of England VC 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 St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School?
- St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School has 172 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School full?
- St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School has capacity for 270 pupils and 172 on roll (64%), 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 St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of St Albans.
- Does St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School part of an academy trust?
- St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School is part of the The Riverbank Federation federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School have?
- The schools register lists St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 46% in 2022/23 and 38% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School compare with other schools in Central Bedfordshire?
- St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School ranked 41st of 48 primary schools in Central Bedfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School's absence rate?
- St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Swithun's Church of England VC 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 23 July 2026.