Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
Birchwood, Birchanger, Bishop's Stortford, CM23 5QL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sharon Vessey
- Diocese
- Diocese of Chelmsford
- Constituency
- North West Essex
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 117
- Pupils on roll
- 93
- URN
- 115127
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01279812362
About this school
Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Bishop's Stortford. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 93 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- 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 | 24 | 14 | 11 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | 29% | 64% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | 71% | 91% |
| Expected standard in maths | 75% | 43% | 73% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 83% | 64% | 73% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 102.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 98.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.50 | - | - |
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 Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled 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 | Essex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 63% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 29% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 64% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 121 |
| 2023/24 | 107 |
| 2024/25 | 97 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School compares
Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School ranked 216th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 76% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 64% | 4.3% | 12.4% | 93 | — |
| St Mary's CofE Foundation Primary School | 75% | 5.8% | 22.5% | 255 | 0.8 miles |
| All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery, Bishop's Stortford | 61% | 4.6% | 10.9% | 208 | 0.9 miles |
| Summercroft Primary School | 73% | 5% | 8.8% | 436 | 0.9 miles |
| Avanti Meadows Primary School | 47% | 4.8% | 23.1% | 315 | 1.3 miles |
| Magna Carta Primary Academy | 69% | 2.6% | 9% | 194 | 1.3 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
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 12.37%
- English as an additional language
- 11.3%
- Overall absence
- 4.3%
- Persistent absence
- 6.59%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Mary's CofE Foundation Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Stansted
-
All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery, Bishop's Stortford0.9 miles
Primary · Bishop's Stortford
-
Summercroft Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Bishop's Stortford
-
Avanti Meadows Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Bishop's Stortford
-
Magna Carta Primary Academy1.3 miles
Primary · Stansted Mountfitchet
Other schools in Bishop's Stortford
Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School ranks 16th of the 22 ranked primary schools in Bishop's Stortford.
- All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery, Bishop's Stortford Primary
- Avanti Meadows Primary School Primary
- Elsenham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Farnham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hatfield Heath Primary School Primary
- Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Hillmead Primary School Primary
- Little Hallingbury Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Manor Fields Primary School Primary
- Manuden Primary School Primary
- Northgate Primary School Primary
- Richard Whittington Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School teach?
- Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Bishop's Stortford.
- Who is the headteacher of Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School?
- The headteacher of Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is Mrs Sharon Vessey, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled 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 big is Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School?
- Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School has 93 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School full?
- Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School has capacity for 117 pupils and 93 on roll (79%), 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 Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Chelmsford.
- Does Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 63% in 2022/23 and 64% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School rank locally?
- Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School ranked 216th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 76% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's absence rate?
- Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled 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 15 July 2026.