St John's Church of England Primary School
Goodwyns Road, Dorking, RH4 2LR
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- THE GOOD SHEPHERD TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Kathryn Saunderson
- Religious ethos
- None
- Diocese
- Diocese of Guildford
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- The Good Shepherd Trust
- Constituency
- Dorking and Horley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 262
- Pupils on roll
- 210
- URN
- 139721
- Local authority
- Surrey
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01306884506
About this school
St John's Church of England Primary School is a Church of England primary academy in Dorking. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 210 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St John's Church of England 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 1 December 2021, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 | 30 | 31 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 60% | 52% | 33% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 77% | 81% | 57% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 55% | 43% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 73% | 71% | 50% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 103.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.70 | - | - |
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 John's Church of England 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 | 52% | 62.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 33% | 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 | 8.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 223 |
| 2023/24 | 229 |
| 2024/25 | 230 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St John's Church of England Primary School compares
St John's Church of England Primary School ranked 203rd of 205 primary schools in Surrey for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 8% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 33% | 8.9% | 38.3% | 210 | — |
| St Paul's CofE Primary School | — | 4.8% | 8.3% | 397 | 0.8 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School | — | — | — | — | 0.9 miles |
| Powell Corderoy Primary School | 70% | 5.8% | 9.4% | 196 | 1.0 miles |
| St Martin's CofE Primary School | 76% | 5.1% | 12.7% | 364 | 1.5 miles |
| Surrey Hills All Saints Primary School | 67% | 5.3% | 20.6% | 125 | 1.5 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)
- 38.31%
- English as an additional language
- 10.9%
- Overall absence
- 8.87%
- Persistent absence
- 25.27%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Paul's CofE Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Dorking
-
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Dorking
-
Powell Corderoy Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Dorking
-
St Martin's CofE Primary School1.5 miles
Primary · Dorking
-
Surrey Hills All Saints Primary School1.5 miles
Primary · Dorking
Other schools in Dorking
St John's Church of England Primary School ranks 5th of the 5 ranked primary schools in Dorking.
- Newdigate CofE Endowed Aided Infant School Primary
- Powell Corderoy Primary School Primary
- Scott-Broadwood CofE Infant School Primary
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Martin's CofE Primary School Primary
- St Michael's CofE Aided Infant School Primary
- St Paul's CofE Primary School Primary
- Surrey Hills All Saints Primary School Primary
- The Weald CofE Primary School Primary
- Dorking Nursery School Nursery
- The Ashcombe School Secondary
- The Priory Church of England School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does St John's Church of England Primary School teach?
- St John's Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Dorking.
- Who is the headteacher of St John's Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of St John's Church of England Primary School is Mrs Kathryn Saunderson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St John's Church of England Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St John's Church of England 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 St John's Church of England Primary School?
- St John's Church of England Primary School has 210 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St John's Church of England Primary School full?
- St John's Church of England Primary School has capacity for 262 pupils and 210 on roll (80%), 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 St John's Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St John's Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Guildford.
- Does St John's Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St John's Church of England Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is St John's Church of England Primary School part of an academy trust?
- St John's Church of England Primary School is part of THE GOOD SHEPHERD TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St John's Church of England 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 33% 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 John's Church of England Primary School compare with other schools in Surrey?
- St John's Church of England Primary School ranked 203rd of 205 primary schools in Surrey for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 8% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% 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 John's Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- St John's Church of England Primary School's overall absence rate is 8.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St John's Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St John's Church of England 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.