Best Schools in Bury St. Edmunds

How many schools are there in Bury St. Edmunds?

Bury St. Edmunds has 13 open schools: 8 state primary, 2 state secondary or all-through, 1 independent and 2 special.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Are there any Outstanding schools in Bury St. Edmunds?

None of the 7 graded schools in Bury St. Edmunds currently holds an Outstanding rating. 7 are rated Good, so 100% are Good or better. Ofsted stopped giving single-word overall grades in September 2024, so these are the grades from each school's last full inspection.

Source: Ofsted

Which primary schools in Bury St. Edmunds have the best SATs results?

Of the 7 primary schools in Bury St. Edmunds with 2025 Key Stage 2 results, the highest shares of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading and maths were at Great Whelnetham Church of England Primary School (88% in reading, 82% in maths); Ixworth Church of England Primary School (80% in reading, 85% in maths); and Rougham Church of England Primary School (75% in reading, 82% in maths). Small schools can swing a long way from one year to the next, because each pupil is a large share of the result.

Great Whelnetham Church of England Primary SchoolIxworth Church of England Primary SchoolRougham Church of England Primary School

Source: DfE school performance data

Are there grammar schools in Bury St. Edmunds?

No. None of the state secondary schools in Bury St. Edmunds selects pupils by ability, so every state secondary here is comprehensive.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Do schools in Bury St. Edmunds have catchment areas?

Most state schools in Bury St. Edmunds have no fixed catchment boundary. When a school is oversubscribed, Suffolk allocates places on its published criteria - usually looked-after children first, then siblings, then home-to-school distance - so the practical cut-off moves each year. Each school's page here shows an estimate of its catchment radius.

How do I apply for a school place in Bury St. Edmunds?

Apply to Suffolk through its coordinated admissions process, even for academies and faith schools. In England the closing date is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts. Independent schools run their own admissions, so apply to those directly.