Dunmow St Mary's Primary School
High Stile, Great Dunmow, Dunmow, CM6 1EB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Claire Kearney
- Diocese
- Diocese of Chelmsford
- Constituency
- North West Essex
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 459
- URN
- 115299
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01371872340
About this school
Dunmow St Mary's Primary School is a Church of England foundation primary school in Dunmow. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 459 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 60 | 60 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 57% | 52% | 58% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 7% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | 68% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 75% | 68% | 78% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 77% | 68% | 65% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.70 | - | - |
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 Dunmow St Mary's 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 | 57% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 52% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 58% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 470 |
| 2023/24 | 471 |
| 2024/25 | 463 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Dunmow St Mary's Primary School compares
Dunmow St Mary's Primary School ranked 257th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 36% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 58% | 5.2% | 18.4% | 459 | — |
| Great Dunmow Primary School | 87% | 4.1% | 8.6% | 421 | 0.3 miles |
| Great Easton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | 41% | 7.2% | 13.3% | 147 | 2.6 miles |
| The Flitch Green Academy | 38% | 6% | 11.7% | 272 | 2.7 miles |
| Stebbing Primary School | 62% | 5.5% | 15.2% | 200 | 2.8 miles |
| Takeley Primary School | 74% | 4.4% | 15.3% | 350 | 3.2 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)
- 18.36%
- English as an additional language
- 4.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.18%
- Persistent absence
- 12.06%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Great Dunmow Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Great Dunmow
-
Great Easton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School2.6 miles
Primary · Dunmow
-
The Flitch Green Academy2.7 miles
Primary · Dunmow
-
Stebbing Primary School2.8 miles
Primary · Dunmow
-
Takeley Primary School3.2 miles
Primary · Dunmow
Other schools in Dunmow
Dunmow St Mary's Primary School ranks 5th of the 8 ranked primary schools in Dunmow.
- Felsted Primary School Primary
- Great Easton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Rodings Primary School Primary
- Stebbing Primary School Primary
- Takeley Primary School Primary
- Thaxted Primary School Primary
- The Flitch Green Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Dunmow St Mary's Primary School teach?
- Dunmow St Mary's Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Dunmow.
- Who is the headteacher of Dunmow St Mary's Primary School?
- The headteacher of Dunmow St Mary's Primary School is Mrs Claire Kearney, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Dunmow St Mary's Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Dunmow St Mary's 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 Dunmow St Mary's Primary School?
- Dunmow St Mary's Primary School has 459 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Dunmow St Mary's Primary School full?
- Dunmow St Mary's Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 459 on roll (109%), so it is at or above 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 Dunmow St Mary's Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Dunmow St Mary's Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Chelmsford.
- Does Dunmow St Mary's Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Dunmow St Mary's Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Dunmow St Mary's Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 57% in 2022/23 and 58% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Dunmow St Mary's Primary School rank locally?
- Dunmow St Mary's Primary School ranked 257th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 36% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Dunmow St Mary's Primary School's absence rate?
- Dunmow St Mary's Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Dunmow St Mary's Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Dunmow St Mary's 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 30 June 2026.