Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School
Cranesbill Road, Melksham, SN12 7GN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- THE WHITE HORSE FEDERATION
- Headteacher
- Mr Scott James
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salisbury
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- The White Horse Federation
- Constituency
- Melksham and Devizes
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 450
- Pupils on roll
- 460
- URN
- 143500
- Local authority
- Wiltshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01225703394
About this school
Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School is a Church of England primary academy in Melksham. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 460 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
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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- 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 | 62 | 60 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | 62% | 77% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 3% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 74% | 78% | 87% |
| Expected standard in maths | 69% | 70% | 83% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 65% | 62% | 77% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 102.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.00 | - | - |
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 Forest and Sandridge 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 | Wiltshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 63% | 56.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 62% | 56.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 77% | 58.2% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 462 |
| 2023/24 | 475 |
| 2024/25 | 477 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School compares
Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School ranked 26th of 174 primary schools in Wiltshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 82% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 77% | 4.6% | 15.9% | 460 | — |
| The Manor CofE VC Primary School | 48% | 6.6% | 51.1% | 121 | 0.8 miles |
| River Mead School | 38% | 6.9% | 45.4% | 261 | 0.8 miles |
| Aloeric Primary School | 42% | 5.5% | 21.9% | 360 | 1.1 miles |
| Bowerhill Primary School | 65% | 4.8% | 19.2% | 378 | 1.1 miles |
| Seend Church of England Primary School | 60% | 4% | 13.6% | 71 | 2.1 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 15.87%
- English as an additional language
- 6.3%
- Overall absence
- 4.63%
- Persistent absence
- 10.32%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Manor CofE VC Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Melksham
-
River Mead School0.8 miles
Primary · Melksham
-
Aloeric Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Melksham
-
Bowerhill Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Melksham
-
Seend Church of England Primary School2.1 miles
Primary · Melksham
Other schools in Melksham
Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School ranks 2nd of the 8 ranked primary schools in Melksham.
- Aloeric Primary School Primary
- Bowerhill Primary School Primary
- Churchfields, the Village School Primary
- River Mead School Primary
- Seend Church of England Primary School Primary
- Shaw CE Primary School Primary
- St Mary's Broughton Gifford Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School Primary
- The Manor CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Melksham Oak Community School Secondary
- Melksham House School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School teach?
- Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Melksham.
- Who is the headteacher of Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School is Mr Scott James, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Forest and Sandridge 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 Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School?
- Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School has 460 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School full?
- Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School has capacity for 450 pupils and 460 on roll (102%), 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 Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Salisbury.
- Does Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School?
- Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School is part of THE WHITE HORSE FEDERATION. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Forest and Sandridge 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 63% in 2022/23 and 77% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School rank locally?
- Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School ranked 26th of 174 primary schools in Wiltshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 82% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Forest and Sandridge 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 10 July 2026.