Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
The Street, Capel St Mary, Ipswich, IP9 2EG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Andrew Frolish
- Diocese
- Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- South Suffolk
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 315
- Pupils on roll
- 273
- URN
- 124749
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01473310386
About this school
Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Ipswich. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 273 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
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
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 32 | 39 | 38 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 53% | 49% | 63% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 0% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 84% | 69% | 87% |
| Expected standard in maths | 81% | 67% | 68% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 88% | 69% | 74% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 103.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.40 | - | - |
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 Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled 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 | 53% | 54.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 49% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 63% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 278 |
| 2023/24 | 287 |
| 2024/25 | 276 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School compares
Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School ranked 105th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 63% | 4.3% | 12.9% | 273 | — |
| Bentley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | — | 6.3% | 22.7% | 40 | 1.6 miles |
| East Bergholt Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 73% | 4.5% | 10% | 195 | 2.4 miles |
| Copdock Primary School | 50% | 2.9% | 9.6% | 83 | 2.8 miles |
| Tattingstone Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 43% | 5.9% | 24.4% | 30 | 2.9 miles |
| Brooklands Primary School | 71% | 3.2% | 10.2% | 268 | 3.0 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.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report8 May 2025
- 10 March 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 12.93%
- English as an additional language
- 1.4%
- Overall absence
- 4.27%
- Persistent absence
- 5.96%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bentley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School1.6 miles
Primary · Ipswich
-
East Bergholt Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School2.4 miles
Primary · Nr Colchester
-
Copdock Primary School2.8 miles
Primary · Ipswich
-
Tattingstone Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School2.9 miles
Primary · Ipswich
-
Brooklands Primary School3.0 miles
Primary · Nr Manningtree
Other schools in Ipswich
Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School ranks 20th of the 55 ranked primary schools in Ipswich.
- Bentley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Bildeston Primary School Primary
- Birchwood Primary School Primary
- Bosmere Community Primary School Primary
- Bramford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Britannia Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Broke Hall Community Primary School Primary
- Bucklesham Primary School Primary
- Castle Hill Infant School Primary
- Castle Hill Junior School Primary
- Cedarwood Primary School Primary
- Chelmondiston Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School teach?
- Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Ipswich.
- Who is the headteacher of Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School?
- The headteacher of Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is Mr Andrew Frolish, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled 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 Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School?
- Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School has 273 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School full?
- Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School has capacity for 315 pupils and 273 on roll (87%), 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 Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.
- Does Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 53% in 2022/23 and 63% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School rank locally?
- Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School ranked 105th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's absence rate?
- Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled 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 2 July 2026.