St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas
Mill Lane, Sherborne, DT9 6RH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- SHERBORNE AREA SCHOOLS' TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Ian Bartle
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salisbury
- Constituency
- West Dorset
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 119
- Pupils on roll
- 90
- URN
- 144299
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01935476515
About this school
St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas is a Church of England primary academy in Sherborne. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 90 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 14 | 12 | 16 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 50% | 58% | 44% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 29% | 8% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 64% | 83% | 63% |
| Expected standard in maths | 57% | 67% | 69% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 64% | 92% | 50% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 107.0 | 100.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 103.0 | 98.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.20 | - | - |
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 Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas 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 | 50% | 53.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 58% | 53.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 44% | 54.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 96 |
| 2023/24 | 94 |
| 2024/25 | 89 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas compares
St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas ranked 77th of 89 primary schools in Dorset for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 15% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44% | 4.1% | 6.7% | 90 | — |
| Thornford CofE Primary School | 53% | 3.5% | 9.1% | 104 | 1.3 miles |
| Barwick and Stoford Community Primary School | 9% | 5.5% | 44.6% | 58 | 1.6 miles |
| Pen Mill Infant and Nursery Academy | — | 6.3% | 24.2% | 156 | 1.9 miles |
| Reckleford Infant School and Nursery | — | 13.9% | 21.7% | 128 | 2.0 miles |
| St Andrew's Church of England Primary School | 31% | 5.3% | 20.6% | 99 | 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report6 May 2026
- 2 February 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 6.74%
- English as an additional language
- 1.1%
- Overall absence
- 4.13%
- Persistent absence
- 6.17%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Thornford CofE Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Sherborne
-
Barwick and Stoford Community Primary School1.6 miles
Primary · Yeovil
-
Pen Mill Infant and Nursery Academy1.9 miles
Primary · Yeovil
-
Reckleford Infant School and Nursery2.0 miles
Primary · Yeovil
-
St Andrew's Church of England Primary School2.0 miles
Primary · Sherborne
Other schools in Sherborne
St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas ranks 5th of the 6 ranked primary schools in Sherborne.
- All Saints Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Charlton Horethorne Church of England Primary School Primary
- Milborne Port Primary School Primary
- Sherborne Abbey Church of England Primary School Primary
- Sherborne Primary School Primary
- St Andrew's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Thornford CofE Primary School Primary
- Trent Young's CofE Primary School Primary
- The Gryphon School Secondary
- Harbour Vale School Academies
- Leweston School Independent schools
- Sherborne Preparatory School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas teach?
- St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Sherborne.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas?
- The headteacher of St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas is Mr Ian Bartle, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas, 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 St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas?
- St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas has 90 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas full?
- St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas has capacity for 119 pupils and 90 on roll (76%), 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 Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Salisbury.
- Does St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas?
- St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas is part of SHERBORNE AREA SCHOOLS' TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 50% in 2022/23 and 44% 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 Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas rank locally?
- St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas ranked 77th of 89 primary schools in Dorset for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 15% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% 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 Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas's absence rate?
- St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas's overall absence rate is 4.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas'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 15 July 2026.