Elmswell Community Primary School
Oxer Close, Elmswell, Bury St Edmunds, IP30 9UE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Richard Ratcliffe
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 383
- URN
- 124534
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01359240261
About this school
Elmswell Community Primary School is a community primary school in Bury St Edmunds. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 383 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Elmswell Community 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 26 February 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 37 | 41 | 41 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 76% | 71% | 76% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 11% | 10% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 89% | 88% | 83% |
| Expected standard in maths | 84% | 80% | 83% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 81% | 83% | 85% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 108.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 106.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.90 | - | - |
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 Elmswell Community 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 | Suffolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 76% | 54.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 71% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 76% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 322 |
| 2023/24 | 361 |
| 2024/25 | 363 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Elmswell Community Primary School compares
Elmswell Community Primary School ranked 28th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 80% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 76% | 4.4% | 19.4% | 383 | — |
| Woolpit Primary Academy | 29% | 8.4% | 36% | 123 | 1.3 miles |
| Crawford's Church of England Primary School | 62% | 5.7% | 38.5% | 90 | 2.2 miles |
| Thurston Church of England Primary Academy | 59% | 5.6% | 19.9% | 349 | 2.5 miles |
| Norton CEVC Primary School | 83% | 4.7% | 10.2% | 203 | 2.5 miles |
| Rattlesden Church of England Primary Academy | 75% | 3.9% | 16.8% | 135 | 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)
- 19.4%
- English as an additional language
- 3.3%
- Overall absence
- 4.42%
- Persistent absence
- 8.65%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Woolpit Primary Academy1.3 miles
Primary · Bury St Edmunds
-
Crawford's Church of England Primary School2.2 miles
Primary · Stowmarket
-
Thurston Church of England Primary Academy2.5 miles
Primary · Bury St. Edmunds
-
Norton CEVC Primary School2.5 miles
Primary · Bury St Edmunds
-
Rattlesden Church of England Primary Academy3.2 miles
Primary · Bury St Edmunds
Other schools in Bury St Edmunds
Elmswell Community Primary School ranks 5th of the 26 ranked primary schools in Bury St Edmunds.
- Abbots Green Primary Academy Primary
- All Saints' Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Lawshall Primary
- Bardwell Church of England Primary School Primary
- Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Barrow Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Beck Row Primary Academy Primary
- Cockfield Church of England Primary School Primary
- Great Barton Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Great Heath Academy Primary
- Guildhall Feoffment Community Primary School Primary
- Hardwick Primary School Primary
- Hartest Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Elmswell Community Primary School teach?
- Elmswell Community Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Bury St Edmunds.
- Who is the headteacher of Elmswell Community Primary School?
- The headteacher of Elmswell Community Primary School is Mr Richard Ratcliffe, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Elmswell Community Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Elmswell Community 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 Elmswell Community Primary School?
- Elmswell Community Primary School has 383 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Elmswell Community Primary School full?
- Elmswell Community Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 383 on roll (91%), 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 Elmswell Community Primary School a faith school?
- No. Elmswell Community Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Elmswell Community Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Elmswell Community Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Elmswell Community Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 76% in 2022/23 and 76% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Elmswell Community Primary School compare with other schools in Suffolk?
- Elmswell Community Primary School ranked 28th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 80% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Elmswell Community Primary School's absence rate?
- Elmswell Community Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Elmswell Community Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Elmswell Community 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.