Bury CofE Primary School, Pulborough
Bury CofE Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Pulborough. It has a Church of England religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in October 2018. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in June 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 2nd-highest of the 8 schools in Pulborough with published results, and 4,333rd of 14,452 across England. For 2026 entry it had 1.3 first-choice applications for every place. It was full in 2025, at 126% of capacity.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2018)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to West Sussex (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Bury CofE Primary School in detail
Bury CofE Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "The school belongs to a group known as Petworth Area Schools and a larger group called the Rother Valley Schools which encompasses the schools that feed into Midhurst Rother College."
The school runs after-school care.
Coming up: an open day on Tuesday 3 November 2026 and an open evening on Tuesday 3 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.
All school open days in West Sussex
Vision and values (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 83% of Year 6 pupils at Bury CofE Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 83% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 76% and 72% in West Sussex and 77% and 75% across England.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Bury CofE Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 17 families put Bury CofE Primary School as their first choice and 51 named it as one of their preferences, for 13 places offered. That is 1.3 first choices for every place. 5 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at Bury CofE Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Bury CofE Primary School are Amberley CofE Primary School (1.6 miles, Good); St James' CofE Primary School, Coldwaltham (2.3 miles, Good, 80% reading, 40% maths); Fittleworth CofE Village School (3.6 miles, Good, 58% reading, 53% maths); and Duncton CofE Junior School (3.7 miles, Good, 75% reading, 67% maths).
Bury CofE Primary School's 2025 results were higher than all 3 of them.
Amberley CofE Primary SchoolSt James' CofE Primary School, ColdwalthamFittleworth CofE Village SchoolDuncton CofE Junior School
Who goes there
3.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 1.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 21 pupils (24.1%) received SEN support and 2 (2.3%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is autism.
Staffing
Bury CofE Primary School had 9 teachers in 2026, one for every 10 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Amberley Rail Station, about 1.5 miles away in a straight line.
2 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is The Squire and Horse (opposite), 230 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 3 crimes within a mile of the school, most often criminal damage and arson, other theft and violence and sexual offences. That is well below the typical figure around schools in West Sussex (103).
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Bury CofE Primary School issued 1 suspension, 1.1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from October 2018, 8 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils thrive in this friendly and caring school. The school's values of 'courage, humility, wisdom, compassion and perseverance' are embedded into everyday life. Pupils enjoy learning. They are proud of how their teachers link learning with the local environment. Pupils are extremely pleased with their Platinum Green Tree Award and being a West Sussex Ambassador School for the South Downs National Park. The school is ambitious for all pupils, and the curriculum enables them to achieve well. Pupils describe the school as 'incredible', 'fun' and 'amazing'.
Pupils behave well and listen carefully to each other. They are kind to each other and understand why this is important. All staff have high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Relationships between staff and pupils are extremely strong and based on mutual respect. Staff put pupils at the heart of every action they take.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school has developed a broad and aspirational curriculum for all pupils from the early years through to Year 6. In most subjects, the content is structured so that all pupils, including those with SEND, consolidate learning well over time. For example, in mathematics, teachers design activities that require pupils to revisit and reuse knowledge they have previously learned. This helps pupils to achieve well.
However, in some subjects, the school's curriculum thinking has not been specific enough about what pupils need to know. This means that pupils do not always connect new knowledge to previous learning effectively. In these few subjects, pupils do not learn as well as they could. The school has identified this and there is a clear strategy to develop the whole curriculum in an organised and manageable way.
From Ofsted's June 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its October 2018 inspection - unchanged since its previous inspection.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
3.4%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
2024/25 academic year
Class Sizes
21.8
Avg class size
19.0
Infant (KS1)
24.5
KS2
4
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Social & online
Keep up with Bury CofE Primary School
Term dates
Bury CofE Primary School is a voluntary aided school, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see West Sussex's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Bury CofE Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Bury CofE Primary School is in West Sussex; for families living there:
Apply to West Sussex for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 2
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 2 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 1 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in West Sussex is 11 (the median across 337 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Bury CofE Primary School
Will you get a place at Bury CofE Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Bury CofE Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Bury CofE Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Bury CofE Primary School.
- West Sussex publishes last distance offered figures, but none for Bury CofE Primary School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Bury CofE Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in West Sussex got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
126%
Over capacity
88 pupils
70 places
18 pupils over capacity in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Pulborough
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Pulborough
Across West Sussex council
Places available
9,608
Applications
8,127
Got 1st preference
92.4%
Got preferred school
99.2%
All primary applications across West Sussex council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(6)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
21
SEN Support
2
EHC Plans
26.4%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
87
Total Pupils
47
Boys
40
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
9
Teachers
9.7:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,560
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,756
Per pupil
£647k
Total funding
£5k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.7%
Overall absence
11.0%
Persistent absence
82
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Questions parents ask about Bury CofE Primary School
What are SATs results like at Bury CofE Primary School?
Of the pupils at Bury CofE Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 83% reached the expected standard in reading and 83% did so in maths.
What is Bury CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Bury CofE Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in June 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in October 2018, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Bury CofE Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Bury CofE Primary School is oversubscribed, West Sussex allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Bury CofE Primary School?
Bury CofE Primary School was full in 2025, at 126% of its capacity, so places are allocated on the oversubscription criteria.
How big are the classes at Bury CofE Primary School?
Classes at Bury CofE Primary School average 21.8 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Bury CofE Primary School?
Bury CofE Primary School has around 87 pupils on roll. 3% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Bury CofE Primary School?
4.7% of sessions were missed at Bury CofE Primary School in 2024/25. 11% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Bury CofE Primary School?
Apply through West Sussex's coordinated admissions process, naming Bury CofE Primary School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Bury CofE Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 2 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 1 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in West Sussex is 11 (the median across 337 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Bury CofE Primary School?
Bury CofE Primary School is at Westburton Lane, Bury, Pulborough, West Sussex, RH20 1HB.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)