Priory School
Mount Road, Bury St Edmunds, IP32 7BH
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 5 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- EASTERN EDUCATION GROUP TRUST
- Headteacher
- Ms Sharron White
- Religious ethos
- None
- Boarding
- Boarding school
- Sponsor
- West Suffolk College
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 204
- Pupils on roll
- 241
- URN
- 137433
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01284761934
About this school
Priory School is a special academy in Bury St Edmunds. It teaches children aged 5 to 19 and has 241 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Priory 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 11 June 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding, but had some concerns; a full inspection will follow. 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 | 8 | 12 | 18 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 28 | 38 | 31 |
| Attainment 8 score | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.56 -2.10 to -1.03 | -1.55 -2.04 to -1.05 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Priory 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 | 0% | 54.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Suffolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0.2 | 37.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 0.9 | 37.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 0.1 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 215 |
| 2023/24 | 207 |
| 2024/25 | 224 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 52.86%
- English as an additional language
- 2.7%
- Overall absence
- 9.63%
- Persistent absence
- 30.95%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Learning Support, Western Area Education Office0.6 miles
Other types · Bury St Edmunds
-
First Base Bury St Edmunds1.0 miles
Academies · Bury St Edmunds
-
Sir Peter Hall School1.1 miles
Free Schools · Bury St. Edmunds
-
South Lee School1.3 miles
Independent schools · Bury St Edmunds
-
Riverwalk School1.6 miles
Academies · Bury St. Edmunds
Other schools in Bury St Edmunds
- Abbey Gardens School Special schools
- First Base Bury St Edmunds Academies
- 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
Common questions
- What ages does Priory School teach?
- Priory School teaches children aged 5 to 19. It is a special school in Bury St Edmunds.
- Who is the headteacher of Priory School?
- The headteacher of Priory School is Ms Sharron White, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Priory School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Priory 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 Priory School?
- Priory School has 241 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 19.
- Is Priory School full?
- Priory School has capacity for 204 pupils and 241 on roll (118%), 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 Priory School a faith school?
- No. Priory School has no designated religious character.
- Is Priory School part of an academy trust?
- Priory School is part of EASTERN EDUCATION GROUP TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Priory School have?
- The schools register lists Priory School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Priory School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Priory School's absence rate?
- Priory School's overall absence rate is 9.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Priory School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Priory 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.