Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School
High Street, Swanage, BH19 2PH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- COASTAL LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Head of School
- Mrs Katherine Astle
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salisbury
- Sponsor
- Coastal Learning Partnership
- Constituency
- South Dorset
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 89
- URN
- 142165
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01929422949
About this school
Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School is a Church of England primary academy in Swanage. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 89 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. 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 17 April 2024, 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 | 25 | 23 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 28% | 65% | 43% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 4% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 48% | 96% | 55% |
| Expected standard in maths | 40% | 74% | 59% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 56% | 78% | 79% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 109.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 106.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.60 | - | - |
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 Swanage St Mark'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 | Dorset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 28% | 53.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 65% | 53.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 43% | 54.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 155 |
| 2023/24 | 141 |
| 2024/25 | 120 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School compares
Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School ranked 78th of 89 primary schools in Dorset for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 14% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43% | 7.4% | 40.8% | 89 | — |
| St George's Church of England Primary School, Langton Matravers | 67% | 4.3% | 14.9% | 85 | 0.8 miles |
| Swanage Primary School | 47% | 6.7% | 18.3% | 222 | 1.0 miles |
| St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage | 65% | 6.1% | 19.4% | 175 | 1.1 miles |
| Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School | 57% | 6.3% | 12.9% | 87 | 3.5 miles |
| Lilliput Church of England Infant School | — | 3.7% | 2.7% | 343 | 7.0 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)
- 40.83%
- English as an additional language
- 17.5%
- Overall absence
- 7.44%
- Persistent absence
- 25.21%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St George's Church of England Primary School, Langton Matravers0.8 miles
Primary · Swanage
-
Swanage Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Swanage
-
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage1.1 miles
Primary · Swanage
-
Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School3.5 miles
Primary · Wareham
-
Lilliput Church of England Infant School7.0 miles
Primary · Poole
Other schools in Swanage
- St George's Church of England Primary School, Langton Matravers Primary
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage Primary
- Swanage Primary School Primary
- The Swanage School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School teach?
- Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Swanage.
- Who is the head of school of Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School?
- The head of school of Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School is Mrs Katherine Astle, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Swanage St Mark'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 big is Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School?
- Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School has 89 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School full?
- Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 89 on roll (42%), 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 Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Salisbury.
- Does Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School?
- Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School is part of COASTAL LEARNING PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Swanage St Mark'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 28% in 2022/23 and 43% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School rank locally?
- Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School ranked 78th of 89 primary schools in Dorset for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 14% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School's overall absence rate is 7.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Swanage St Mark'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 2 July 2026.