Thurston Church of England Primary Academy
Pond Field Road, Bury St. Edmunds, IP31 3FT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- THEDWASTRE EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr John Bayes
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
- Constituency
- Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 349
- URN
- 142562
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01359230444
About this school
Thurston Church of England Primary Academy is a Church of England primary academy in Bury St. Edmunds. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 349 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Thurston Church of England Primary Academy, 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 46 | 52 | 63 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 61% | 60% | 59% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 8% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 67% | 71% | 78% |
| Expected standard in maths | 83% | 73% | 75% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 80% | 73% | 86% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.10 | - | - |
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 Thurston Church of England Primary Academy 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 | 61% | 54.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 60% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 59% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 306 |
| 2023/24 | 320 |
| 2024/25 | 336 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Thurston Church of England Primary Academy compares
Thurston Church of England Primary Academy ranked 122nd of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 59% | 5.6% | 19.9% | 349 | — |
| Norton CEVC Primary School | 83% | 4.7% | 10.2% | 203 | 0.1 miles |
| Elmswell Community Primary School | 76% | 4.4% | 19.4% | 383 | 2.5 miles |
| Woolpit Primary Academy | 29% | 8.4% | 36% | 123 | 2.6 miles |
| Ixworth Church of England Primary School | 40% | 8.1% | 26.1% | 163 | 3.3 miles |
| Rougham Church of England Primary School | 64% | 3.9% | 12.6% | 196 | 3.5 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)
- 19.94%
- English as an additional language
- 3.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.57%
- Persistent absence
- 11.3%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Norton CEVC Primary School0.1 miles
Primary · Bury St Edmunds
-
Elmswell Community Primary School2.5 miles
Primary · Bury St Edmunds
-
Woolpit Primary Academy2.6 miles
Primary · Bury St Edmunds
-
Ixworth Church of England Primary School3.3 miles
Primary · Bury St. Edmunds
-
Rougham Church of England Primary School3.5 miles
Primary · Bury St. Edmunds
Other schools in Bury St. Edmunds
Thurston Church of England Primary Academy ranks 5th of the 7 ranked primary schools in Bury St. Edmunds.
- Great Whelnetham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ixworth Church of England Primary School Primary
- Rougham Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Edmundsbury CofE Primary Academy Primary
- Stanton Primary School Primary
- The Pines Primary School Primary
- West Row Academy Primary
- Sybil Andrews Academy Secondary
- Riverwalk School Academies
- Sir Peter Hall School Free Schools
- The Albany Academies
- Culford School Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does Thurston Church of England Primary Academy teach?
- Thurston Church of England Primary Academy teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Bury St. Edmunds.
- Who is the headteacher of Thurston Church of England Primary Academy?
- The headteacher of Thurston Church of England Primary Academy is Mr John Bayes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Thurston Church of England Primary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Thurston Church of England Primary Academy, 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 Thurston Church of England Primary Academy?
- Thurston Church of England Primary Academy has 349 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is Thurston Church of England Primary Academy full?
- Thurston Church of England Primary Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 349 on roll (83%), 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 Thurston Church of England Primary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Thurston Church of England Primary Academy is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.
- Is Thurston Church of England Primary Academy a selective school?
- No. Thurston Church of England Primary Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does Thurston Church of England Primary Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Thurston Church of England Primary Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Is Thurston Church of England Primary Academy part of an academy trust?
- Thurston Church of England Primary Academy is part of THEDWASTRE EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Thurston Church of England Primary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 61% in 2022/23 and 59% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Thurston Church of England Primary Academy compare with other schools in Suffolk?
- Thurston Church of England Primary Academy ranked 122nd of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Thurston Church of England Primary Academy's absence rate?
- Thurston Church of England Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 5.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Thurston Church of England Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Thurston Church of England Primary Academy'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.