Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School
Cold Ash Hill, Cold Ash, Thatcham, RG18 9PT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Mitch Warrender
- Diocese
- Diocese of Oxford
- Constituency
- Newbury
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 195
- URN
- 109958
- Local authority
- West Berkshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01635862600
About this school
Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Thatcham. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 195 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Cold Ash St Mark's CE 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 20 March 2024, 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 | 27 | 24 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 70% | 67% | 61% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 8% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 85% | 75% | 77% |
| Expected standard in maths | 85% | 67% | 71% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 78% | 75% | 84% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 102.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.80 | - | - |
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 Cold Ash St Mark's CE 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 | West Berkshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 70% | 54% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 67% | 54.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 61% | 55.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 188 |
| 2023/24 | 196 |
| 2024/25 | 203 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School compares
Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School ranked 21st of 52 primary schools in West Berkshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 93% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 61% | 3.6% | 3.5% | 195 | — |
| St Finian's Catholic Primary School | 71% | 3.2% | 3.4% | 204 | 0.5 miles |
| Whitelands Park Primary School | 57% | 6.1% | 22.1% | 372 | 1.2 miles |
| Thatcham Park CofE Primary | 51% | 4.2% | 24% | 399 | 1.4 miles |
| Curridge Primary School | 55% | 4.5% | 13.8% | 111 | 1.7 miles |
| Parsons Down Infant School | — | 6.5% | 8.9% | 88 | 1.7 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)
- 3.45%
- English as an additional language
- 1.5%
- Overall absence
- 3.59%
- Persistent absence
- 4.57%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Finian's Catholic Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Thatcham
-
Whitelands Park Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Thatcham
-
Thatcham Park CofE Primary1.4 miles
Primary · Thatcham
-
Curridge Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Thatcham
-
Parsons Down Infant School1.7 miles
Primary · Thatcham
Other schools in Thatcham
Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School ranks 5th of the 12 ranked primary schools in Thatcham.
- Ashford Hill Primary School Primary
- Curridge Primary School Primary
- Francis Baily Primary School Primary
- Hampstead Norreys C.E. Primary School Primary
- Hermitage Primary School Primary
- Parsons Down Infant School Primary
- Parsons Down Junior School Primary
- Spurcroft Primary School Primary
- St Finian's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Thatcham Park CofE Primary Primary
- Whitelands Park Primary School Primary
- Yattendon C.E. Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School teach?
- Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Thatcham.
- Who is the headteacher of Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School?
- The headteacher of Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School is Mr Mitch Warrender, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Cold Ash St Mark's CE 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 Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School?
- Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School has 195 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School full?
- Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 195 on roll (93%), 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 Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Oxford.
- How have Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 70% in 2022/23 and 61% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School compare with other schools in West Berkshire?
- Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School ranked 21st of 52 primary schools in West Berkshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 93% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School's absence rate?
- Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Cold Ash St Mark's CE 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.