Norton CEVC Primary School
School Close, Norton, Bury St Edmunds, IP31 3LZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Acting Headteacher
- Mrs Lisa Sparkes
- Diocese
- Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
- Constituency
- Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 203
- URN
- 124710
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01359230520
About this school
Norton CEVC Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Bury St Edmunds. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 203 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
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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Outstanding
- 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 | 29 | 30 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 72% | 63% | 83% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 21% | 10% | 10% |
| Expected standard in reading | 90% | 77% | 90% |
| Expected standard in maths | 86% | 77% | 83% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 79% | 63% | 87% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 105.0 | 110.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 104.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.10 | - | - |
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 Norton CEVC 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 | 72% | 54.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 63% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 83% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 209 |
| 2023/24 | 206 |
| 2024/25 | 205 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Norton CEVC Primary School compares
Norton CEVC Primary School ranked 11th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 91% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 83% | 4.7% | 10.2% | 203 | — |
| Thurston Church of England Primary Academy | 59% | 5.6% | 19.9% | 349 | 0.1 miles |
| Elmswell Community Primary School | 76% | 4.4% | 19.4% | 383 | 2.5 miles |
| Woolpit Primary Academy | 29% | 8.4% | 36% | 123 | 2.6 miles |
| Ixworth Church of England Primary School | 40% | 8.1% | 26.1% | 163 | 3.2 miles |
| Rougham Church of England Primary School | 64% | 3.9% | 12.6% | 196 | 3.5 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)
- 10.24%
- English as an additional language
- 1.5%
- Overall absence
- 4.67%
- Persistent absence
- 7.73%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Thurston Church of England Primary Academy0.1 miles
Primary · Bury St. Edmunds
-
Elmswell Community Primary School2.5 miles
Primary · Bury St Edmunds
-
Woolpit Primary Academy2.6 miles
Primary · Bury St Edmunds
-
Ixworth Church of England Primary School3.2 miles
Primary · Bury St. Edmunds
-
Rougham Church of England Primary School3.5 miles
Primary · Bury St. Edmunds
Other schools in Bury St Edmunds
Norton CEVC Primary School ranks 1st 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
- Elmswell Community 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
Common questions
- What year groups does Norton CEVC Primary School teach?
- Norton CEVC Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Bury St Edmunds.
- Who is the acting headteacher of Norton CEVC Primary School?
- The acting headteacher of Norton CEVC Primary School is Mrs Lisa Sparkes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Norton CEVC Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Norton CEVC 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 Norton CEVC Primary School?
- Norton CEVC Primary School has 203 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Norton CEVC Primary School full?
- Norton CEVC Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 203 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Norton CEVC Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Norton CEVC Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.
- Does Norton CEVC Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Norton CEVC Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Norton CEVC Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 72% in 2022/23 and 83% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Norton CEVC Primary School rank locally?
- Norton CEVC Primary School ranked 11th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 91% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Norton CEVC Primary School's absence rate?
- Norton CEVC Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Norton CEVC Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Norton CEVC 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.