St Nicholas CofE Primary School
Sarajac Avenue, East Challow, Wantage, OX12 9RY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- CAMBRIAN LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Michelle Rooke
- Diocese
- Diocese of Oxford
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Faringdon Academy of Schools
- Constituency
- Didcot and Wantage
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 105
- Pupils on roll
- 121
- URN
- 141459
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01235763858
About this school
St Nicholas CofE Primary School is a Church of England primary academy in Wantage. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 121 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Nicholas CofE 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 11 January 2023, 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 | 11 | 16 | 15 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 36% | 50% | 53% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 6% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 55% | 63% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 45% | 63% | 53% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 45% | 56% | 60% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 106.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 102.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -5.40 | - | - |
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 St Nicholas CofE 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 | Oxfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 36% | 58.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 50% | 59.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 53% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 120 |
| 2023/24 | 125 |
| 2024/25 | 120 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Nicholas CofE Primary School compares
St Nicholas CofE Primary School ranked 168th of 228 primary schools in Oxfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53% | 6.4% | 22% | 121 | — |
| Stockham Primary School | 50% | 5.7% | 17.1% | 203 | 0.9 miles |
| The Ridgeway Church of England (C) Primary School | 55% | 3.5% | 10.1% | 82 | 1.3 miles |
| Wantage Church of England Primary School | 73% | 5.1% | 26% | 435 | 1.3 miles |
| Charlton Primary School | 72% | 4.6% | 8.7% | 444 | 1.9 miles |
| Millbrook Primary School | 70% | 5.2% | 20.3% | 482 | 2.0 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 22%
- English as an additional language
- 7.5%
- Overall absence
- 6.35%
- Persistent absence
- 22.58%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Stockham Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Wantage
-
The Ridgeway Church of England (C) Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Wantage
-
Wantage Church of England Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Wantage
-
Charlton Primary School1.9 miles
Primary · Wantage
-
Millbrook Primary School2.0 miles
Primary · Wantage
Other schools in Wantage
St Nicholas CofE Primary School ranks 8th of the 11 ranked primary schools in Wantage.
- Charlton Primary School Primary
- Grove Church of England School Primary
- Millbrook Primary School Primary
- St Amand's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St James Church of England Primary School, Hanney Primary
- Stockham Primary School Primary
- The Hendreds Church of England School Primary
- The Ridgeway Church of England (C) Primary School Primary
- Wantage Church of England Primary School Primary
- Wantage Primary Academy Primary
- King Alfred's Secondary
- St Johns CofE Academy All-through
Common questions
- What ages does St Nicholas CofE Primary School teach?
- St Nicholas CofE Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Wantage.
- Who is the headteacher of St Nicholas CofE Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Nicholas CofE Primary School is Mrs Michelle Rooke, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Nicholas CofE Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Nicholas CofE 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 Nicholas CofE Primary School?
- St Nicholas CofE Primary School has 121 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Nicholas CofE Primary School full?
- St Nicholas CofE Primary School has capacity for 105 pupils and 121 on roll (115%), 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 Nicholas CofE Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Nicholas CofE Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Oxford.
- Does St Nicholas CofE Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Nicholas CofE Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is St Nicholas CofE Primary School part of an academy trust?
- St Nicholas CofE Primary School is part of CAMBRIAN LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Nicholas CofE Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 36% in 2022/23 and 53% 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 Nicholas CofE Primary School compare with other schools in Oxfordshire?
- St Nicholas CofE Primary School ranked 168th of 228 primary schools in Oxfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% 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 Nicholas CofE Primary School's absence rate?
- St Nicholas CofE Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Nicholas CofE Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Nicholas CofE 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.