Bishops Castle Primary School
Oak Meadow, Bishops Castle, SY9 5PA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- DIOCESE OF HEREFORD MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Rebecca Manning
- Sponsor
- Diocese of Hereford Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- South Shropshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 175
- Pupils on roll
- 128
- URN
- 145672
- Local authority
- Shropshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01588638522
About this school
Bishops Castle Primary School is a primary academy in Bishops Castle. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 128 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
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 | 19 | 22 | 24 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 53% | 18% | 50% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 0% | 4% |
| Expected standard in reading | 89% | 41% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 89% | 36% | 63% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 84% | 45% | 46% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 98.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 97.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.30 | - | - |
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 Bishops Castle 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 | Shropshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53% | 55.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 18% | 55.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 50% | 56.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 130 |
| 2023/24 | 131 |
| 2024/25 | 136 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bishops Castle Primary School compares
Bishops Castle Primary School ranked 71st of 96 primary schools in Shropshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50% | 7% | 24.3% | 128 | — |
| Lydbury North Church of England Primary School | 14% | 4.1% | 37.9% | 37 | 2.6 miles |
| Norbury Primary School and Nursery | 89% | 3.6% | 3.7% | 70 | 3.8 miles |
| Stiperstones CofE Primary School | — | 3.6% | 21.1% | 25 | 3.8 miles |
| St George's CofE Academy, Clun | 57% | 4.8% | 5.8% | 110 | 5.2 miles |
| Newcastle CofE Primary School | — | 8.4% | 27.8% | 21 | 5.9 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
- 11 October 2023
-
Ungraded inspection report15 September 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 24.26%
- English as an additional language
- 3.7%
- Overall absence
- 7%
- Persistent absence
- 18.1%
Location
Nearby schools
- 2.6 miles
-
Norbury Primary School and Nursery3.8 miles
Primary · Bishops Castle
-
Stiperstones CofE Primary School3.8 miles
Primary · Bishops Castle
-
St George's CofE Academy, Clun5.2 miles
Primary · Craven Arms
-
Newcastle CofE Primary School5.9 miles
Primary · Craven Arms
Other schools in Bishops Castle
- Norbury Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Stiperstones CofE Primary School Primary
- The Community College, Bishop's Castle Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Bishops Castle Primary School teach?
- Bishops Castle Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Bishops Castle.
- Who is the headteacher of Bishops Castle Primary School?
- The headteacher of Bishops Castle Primary School is Mrs Rebecca Manning, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bishops Castle Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bishops Castle 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 Bishops Castle Primary School?
- Bishops Castle Primary School has 128 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Bishops Castle Primary School full?
- Bishops Castle Primary School has capacity for 175 pupils and 128 on roll (73%), 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 Bishops Castle Primary School a faith school?
- No. Bishops Castle Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Bishops Castle Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Bishops Castle Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Bishops Castle Primary School?
- Bishops Castle Primary School is part of DIOCESE OF HEREFORD MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Bishops Castle Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 53% in 2022/23 and 50% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bishops Castle Primary School rank locally?
- Bishops Castle Primary School ranked 71st of 96 primary schools in Shropshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bishops Castle Primary School's absence rate?
- Bishops Castle Primary School's overall absence rate is 7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bishops Castle Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bishops Castle 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.