The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern
Main Road, Withern, Alford, LN13 0NB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Miss Karen Robinson
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lincoln
- Constituency
- Louth and Horncastle
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 70
- Pupils on roll
- 75
- URN
- 120588
- Local authority
- Lincolnshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01507450375
About this school
The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Alford. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 75 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. 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 29 March 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 | 11 | 7 | 8 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 82% | 86% | 88% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 0% | 38% |
| Expected standard in reading | 91% | 100% | 88% |
| Expected standard in maths | 100% | 86% | 100% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 91% | 100% | 88% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 110.0 | 110.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 109.0 | 106.0 | 110.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.40 | - | - |
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 The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Lincolnshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 82% | 54% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 86% | 54.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 88% | 56.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 76 |
| 2023/24 | 68 |
| 2024/25 | 72 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern compares
The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern ranked 5th of 246 primary schools in Lincolnshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 96% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 87% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 88% | 3.8% | 30.6% | 75 | — |
| Theddlethorpe Academy | 63% | 7.2% | 53.3% | 98 | 3.8 miles |
| East Wold Church of England Primary School | 29% | 4.7% | 11.9% | 78 | 3.9 miles |
| Grimoldby Primary School | 76% | 4% | 20.3% | 207 | 4.0 miles |
| Alford Primary School | 72% | 4.3% | 43% | 304 | 4.5 miles |
| Mablethorpe Primary Academy | 48% | 8.2% | 59.5% | 320 | 4.5 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)
- 30.56%
- English as an additional language
- 4.2%
- Overall absence
- 3.84%
- Persistent absence
- 4.84%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Theddlethorpe Academy3.8 miles
Primary · Mablethorpe
-
East Wold Church of England Primary School3.9 miles
Primary · Louth
-
Grimoldby Primary School4.0 miles
Primary · Louth
-
Alford Primary School4.5 miles
Primary · Alford
-
Mablethorpe Primary Academy4.5 miles
Primary · Mablethorpe
Other schools in Alford
Common questions
- What year groups does The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern teach?
- The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Alford.
- Who is the headteacher of The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern?
- The headteacher of The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern is Miss Karen Robinson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern, 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 The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern?
- The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern has 75 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern full?
- The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern has capacity for 70 pupils and 75 on roll (107%), 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 The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern a faith school?
- Yes. The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Lincoln.
- Does The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern as having no nursery classes.
- How have The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 82% in 2022/23 and 88% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern rank locally?
- The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern ranked 5th of 246 primary schools in Lincolnshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 96% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 87% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern's absence rate?
- The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern's overall absence rate is 3.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The St Margaret's Church of England School, Withern'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.