The Pines Primary School
Manor Wood, Red Lodge, Bury St. Edmunds, IP28 8WL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- ANGLIAN LEARNING
- Headteacher
- Mrs Kerry Darby
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Anglian Learning
- Constituency
- West Suffolk
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 240
- URN
- 145031
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01638790135
About this school
The Pines Primary School is a primary academy in Bury St. Edmunds. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 240 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. 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 | 11 | 17 | 28 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 36% | 41% | 61% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% | 76% | 86% |
| Expected standard in maths | 45% | 65% | 71% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 64% | 53% | 79% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 104.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 100.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.40 | - | - |
| 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 The Pines 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 | Suffolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 36% | 54.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 41% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 61% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 222 |
| 2023/24 | 236 |
| 2024/25 | 244 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Pines Primary School compares
The Pines Primary School ranked 111th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% 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 | 61% | 4.2% | 8.4% | 240 | — |
| St Christopher's CEVCP School | 77% | 6.1% | 18.2% | 389 | 0.5 miles |
| Kennett Primary School | 55% | 4.4% | 8.8% | 130 | 2.0 miles |
| St Mary's Church of England Academy | 31% | 5.8% | 20% | 414 | 2.6 miles |
| Great Heath Academy | 55% | 4.4% | 20.5% | 438 | 2.9 miles |
| West Row Academy | 67% | 5.2% | 15.4% | 208 | 3.8 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)
- 8.42%
- English as an additional language
- 20.1%
- Overall absence
- 4.16%
- Persistent absence
- 6.74%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Christopher's CEVCP School0.5 miles
Primary · Bury St Edmunds
-
Kennett Primary School2.0 miles
Primary · Newmarket
-
St Mary's Church of England Academy2.6 miles
Primary · Bury St Edmunds
-
Great Heath Academy2.9 miles
Primary · Bury St Edmunds
-
West Row Academy3.8 miles
Primary · Bury St. Edmunds
Other schools in Bury St. Edmunds
The Pines Primary School ranks 4th 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
- Thurston Church of England Primary Academy 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 year groups does The Pines Primary School teach?
- The Pines Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Bury St. Edmunds.
- Who is the headteacher of The Pines Primary School?
- The headteacher of The Pines Primary School is Mrs Kerry Darby, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Pines Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Pines 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 The Pines Primary School?
- The Pines Primary School has 240 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is The Pines Primary School full?
- The Pines Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 240 on roll (114%), 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 The Pines Primary School a faith school?
- No. The Pines Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does The Pines Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records The Pines Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs The Pines Primary School?
- The Pines Primary School is part of ANGLIAN LEARNING. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Pines 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 61% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Pines Primary School rank locally?
- The Pines Primary School ranked 111th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% 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 The Pines Primary School's absence rate?
- The Pines Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Pines Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Pines 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.