Wistanstow CofE Primary School
Wistanstow, Craven Arms, SY7 8DQ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Paul O'Malley (interim Executive Headteacher)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hereford
- Federation
- The Edge Schools' Federation
- Constituency
- South Shropshire
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 84
- Pupils on roll
- 51
- URN
- 123517
- Local authority
- Shropshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01588673347
About this school
Wistanstow CofE Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Craven Arms. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 51 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Early years
- Requires improvement
- 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 | 11 | 8 | 10 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 27% | 0% | 30% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 64% | 38% | 50% |
| Expected standard in maths | 45% | 50% | 40% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 18% | 25% | 30% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 98.0 | 100.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 99.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.70 | - | - |
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 Wistanstow CofE 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 | Shropshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 27% | 55.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 55.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 30% | 56.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 72 |
| 2023/24 | 61 |
| 2024/25 | 52 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Wistanstow CofE Primary School compares
Wistanstow CofE Primary School ranked 91st of 96 primary schools in Shropshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 7% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 30% | 6.9% | 5.8% | 51 | — |
| Stokesay Primary School | 79% | 5.8% | 25.7% | 150 | 1.9 miles |
| Onny CofE (A) Primary School | 36% | 7.5% | 15.2% | 87 | 4.3 miles |
| Corvedale CofE Primary School | 50% | 4.4% | 12.7% | 83 | 4.7 miles |
| Clunbury CofE Primary School | 67% | 4.5% | 9.4% | 55 | 4.9 miles |
| Lydbury North Church of England Primary School | 14% | 4.1% | 37.9% | 37 | 5.1 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)
- 5.77%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 6.88%
- Persistent absence
- 18.6%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Stokesay Primary School1.9 miles
Primary · Craven Arms
-
Onny CofE (A) Primary School4.3 miles
Primary · Craven Arms
-
Corvedale CofE Primary School4.7 miles
Primary · Craven Arms
-
Clunbury CofE Primary School4.9 miles
Primary · Craven Arms
- 5.1 miles
Other schools in Craven Arms
Wistanstow CofE Primary School ranks 7th of the 7 ranked primary schools in Craven Arms.
- Clunbury CofE Primary School Primary
- Corvedale CofE Primary School Primary
- Leintwardine Endowed CE Primary School Primary
- Newcastle CofE Primary School Primary
- Onny CofE (A) Primary School Primary
- St George's CofE Academy, Clun Primary
- Stokesay Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Wistanstow CofE Primary School teach?
- Wistanstow CofE Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Craven Arms.
- Who is the headteacher of Wistanstow CofE Primary School?
- The headteacher of Wistanstow CofE Primary School is Mr Paul O'Malley (interim Executive Headteacher), as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Wistanstow CofE Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Wistanstow CofE 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 Wistanstow CofE Primary School?
- Wistanstow CofE Primary School has 51 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Wistanstow CofE Primary School full?
- Wistanstow CofE Primary School has capacity for 84 pupils and 51 on roll (61%), 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 Wistanstow CofE Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Wistanstow CofE Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Hereford.
- Does Wistanstow CofE Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Wistanstow CofE Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Wistanstow CofE Primary School?
- Wistanstow CofE Primary School is part of the The Edge Schools' Federation federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Wistanstow CofE Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 27% in 2022/23 and 30% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Wistanstow CofE Primary School rank locally?
- Wistanstow CofE Primary School ranked 91st of 96 primary schools in Shropshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 7% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Wistanstow CofE Primary School's absence rate?
- Wistanstow CofE Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Wistanstow CofE Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Wistanstow CofE 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.