Buckfastleigh Primary School
Bossell Road, Buckfastleigh, TQ11 0DD
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- WESTCOUNTRY SCHOOLS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jessica Rafferty
- Sponsor
- Westcountry Schools Trust
- Constituency
- Central Devon
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 280
- Pupils on roll
- 112
- URN
- 136562
- Local authority
- Devon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01364643304
About this school
Buckfastleigh Primary School is a primary academy in Buckfastleigh. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 112 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Buckfastleigh 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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
- Good
- 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 | 30 | 25 | 19 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 30% | 64% | 58% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 12% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 47% | 84% | 74% |
| Expected standard in maths | 43% | 84% | 68% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 37% | 84% | 68% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 99.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 98.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -5.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -5.60 | - | - |
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 Buckfastleigh 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 | Devon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 30% | 55% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 64% | 54.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 58% | 57.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 145 |
| 2023/24 | 128 |
| 2024/25 | 121 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Buckfastleigh Primary School compares
Buckfastleigh Primary School ranked 153rd of 269 primary schools in Devon for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 36% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 58% | 5% | 34.7% | 112 | — |
| St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast | 61% | 6% | 42.5% | 168 | 0.8 miles |
| Landscove Church of England Primary School | 85% | 3.8% | 10.3% | 91 | 2.3 miles |
| Ashburton Primary School | 59% | 6% | 20.9% | 161 | 2.6 miles |
| Dartington Church of England Academy | 72% | 4.6% | 17.9% | 286 | 3.7 miles |
| Broadhempston Village Primary School | 67% | 2% | 11.1% | 43 | 3.9 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)
- 34.71%
- English as an additional language
- 1.7%
- Overall absence
- 5.04%
- Persistent absence
- 10.38%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast0.8 miles
Primary · Buckfastleigh
-
Landscove Church of England Primary School2.3 miles
Primary · Nr Ashburton
-
Ashburton Primary School2.6 miles
Primary · Newton Abbot
-
Dartington Church of England Academy3.7 miles
Primary · Totnes
-
Broadhempston Village Primary School3.9 miles
Primary · Totnes
Other schools in Buckfastleigh
Common questions
- What ages does Buckfastleigh Primary School teach?
- Buckfastleigh Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Buckfastleigh.
- Who is the headteacher of Buckfastleigh Primary School?
- The headteacher of Buckfastleigh Primary School is Mrs Jessica Rafferty, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Buckfastleigh Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Buckfastleigh 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 Buckfastleigh Primary School?
- Buckfastleigh Primary School has 112 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Buckfastleigh Primary School full?
- Buckfastleigh Primary School has capacity for 280 pupils and 112 on roll (40%), 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 Buckfastleigh Primary School a faith school?
- No. Buckfastleigh Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Buckfastleigh Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Buckfastleigh Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Buckfastleigh Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Buckfastleigh Primary School is part of WESTCOUNTRY SCHOOLS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Buckfastleigh Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 30% in 2022/23 and 58% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Buckfastleigh Primary School compare with other schools in Devon?
- Buckfastleigh Primary School ranked 153rd of 269 primary schools in Devon for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 36% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Buckfastleigh Primary School's absence rate?
- Buckfastleigh Primary School's overall absence rate is 5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Buckfastleigh Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Buckfastleigh 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 1 July 2026.