St James CofE Aided Primary School
Thursley Road, Elstead, Godalming, GU8 6DH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Valerie Elliott
- Diocese
- Diocese of Guildford
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Godalming and Ash
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 229
- URN
- 125176
- Local authority
- Surrey
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01252703248
About this school
St James CofE Aided Primary School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Godalming. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 229 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
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 25 | 27 | 26 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 60% | 63% | 54% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 11% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 76% | 81% | 88% |
| Expected standard in maths | 68% | 70% | 58% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 60% | 67% | 69% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 107.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 104.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.50 | - | - |
| 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 St James CofE Aided 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 | Surrey average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 60% | 61.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 63% | 62.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 54% | 62.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 216 |
| 2023/24 | 214 |
| 2024/25 | 215 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St James CofE Aided Primary School compares
St James CofE Aided Primary School ranked 182nd of 205 primary schools in Surrey for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 28% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 54% | 4.7% | 12.4% | 229 | — |
| Waverley Abbey CofE Junior School | 58% | 4.3% | 8.1% | 446 | 1.9 miles |
| All Saints CofE Aided Infant School | — | 3.7% | 2.5% | 84 | 1.9 miles |
| Milford School | — | 4.8% | 15.7% | 116 | 2.8 miles |
| The Chandler CofE Aided Junior School | 63% | 5.4% | 14% | 304 | 3.2 miles |
| St Mark and All Saints Church of England Primary | 36% | 6.2% | 32.9% | 209 | 3.3 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)
- 12.37%
- English as an additional language
- 7.9%
- Overall absence
- 4.73%
- Persistent absence
- 11.18%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Waverley Abbey CofE Junior School1.9 miles
Primary · Farnham
-
All Saints CofE Aided Infant School1.9 miles
Primary · Farnham
-
Milford School2.8 miles
Primary · Godalming
-
The Chandler CofE Aided Junior School3.2 miles
Primary · Godalming
-
St Mark and All Saints Church of England Primary3.3 miles
Primary · Godalming
Other schools in Godalming
St James CofE Aided Primary School ranks 7th of the 8 ranked primary schools in Godalming.
- Busbridge CofE Aided Junior School Primary
- Busbridge Infant School Primary
- Farncombe Church of England Infant School Primary
- Godalming Junior School Primary
- Loseley Fields Primary School Primary
- Milford School Primary
- Moss Lane School Primary
- St Edmund's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Mark and All Saints Church of England Primary Primary
- St Mary's Church of England Primary School Primary
- The Chandler CofE Aided Junior School Primary
- Witley CofE Controlled Infant School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St James CofE Aided Primary School teach?
- St James CofE Aided Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Godalming.
- Who is the headteacher of St James CofE Aided Primary School?
- The headteacher of St James CofE Aided Primary School is Mrs Valerie Elliott, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St James CofE Aided Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St James CofE Aided 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 St James CofE Aided Primary School?
- St James CofE Aided Primary School has 229 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is St James CofE Aided Primary School full?
- St James CofE Aided Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 229 on roll (109%), 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 St James CofE Aided Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St James CofE Aided Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Guildford.
- Does St James CofE Aided Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St James CofE Aided Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have St James CofE Aided Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 60% in 2022/23 and 54% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St James CofE Aided Primary School rank locally?
- St James CofE Aided Primary School ranked 182nd of 205 primary schools in Surrey for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 28% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St James CofE Aided Primary School's absence rate?
- St James CofE Aided 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 St James CofE Aided Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St James CofE Aided 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.