St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Thornbury, Bristol

Outstanding
Primary
Voluntary aided school
Mixed
Church of England
Ages 411

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Very likely (~491m)Possible (~702m)Unlikely (~913m)Confidence: high

Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mr L Francis (Acting Headteacher)
Pupils:197 / 210 capacity
LA:South Gloucestershire
Phone:01454866760
Address:Church Road, Thornbury, Bristol, BS35 1HJ
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 1 year ago
-

Overall

Requires Improvement

Quality of Education

Good

Behaviour & Attitudes

Good

Personal Development

Requires Improvement

Leadership & Management

Requires Improvement

Early Years

Inspected 29 April 2025View full report
URN:109263
UKPRN:10075755
Diocese:Diocese of Gloucester
Constituency:Thornbury and Yate
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

St Mary's has created a warm, caring community where children feel happy and safe. The school is committed to living out its Christian values, with pupils having real opportunities to contribute to their local and global communities through activities like singing at care homes and raising donations for schools in Africa. Parents appreciate the school's distinctive ethos and strong behaviour expectations.

Key Strengths

  • Pupils are happy, safe and have warm relationships with staff and each other
  • Behaviour is good with rarely any disruption in lessons
  • The school has a strong, distinctive ethos based on Christian values like justice, peace and hope
  • Good attendance and punctuality
  • Effective personal, social and health education programme

Areas for Improvement

  • Reception Year curriculum does not build on children's starting points, hindering their progress
  • Early reading plan is not implemented effectively, leaving some pupils behind
  • Assessment is not used well enough to identify gaps and misconceptions in pupils' learning
  • Some pupils, particularly in writing, have gaps in their knowledge
  • Governors have not provided enough challenge and oversight of school effectiveness

Safeguarding

Safeguarding arrangements are effective and the school creates a positive culture around pupil safety.

Extracurricular Activities

Junior leadership team, science fairs, creative arts fairs, community service projects (singing at elderly care home, fundraising for African school)

St Mary's Church of England Primary School in Thornbury is a happy and safe school where pupils behave well and have positive relationships with staff and each other. However, the quality of education requires improvement, particularly in early reading, writing, and the Reception Year curriculum.

At a Glance

11.2%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

What Parents Think

70 responses
Would recommend76%
Child is happy87%
Well taught76%
Good progress66%
Feels safe83%
Well behaved79%
Bullying dealt with16%
Kept informed76%
Handles concerns56%
Wider development79%

Source: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree

Primary Performance (KS2)

Academic year 2025/26

KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)

2024
2025
Reading-12ppMaths-4ppWriting+5pp

Reading has declined from 83% to 71%. Maths has declined from 83% to 79%. Writing has improved from 37% to 42%.

Class Sizes

29.5

Avg class size

28.7

Infant (KS1)

30.3

KS2

6

Total classes

2 classes with more than 30 pupils

2024/25 academic year

Getting There

Bus Stops

Stokefield Close (NW-bound)
201m · 3 min walk
The Castle School (SW-bound)
241m · 4 min walk
Stafford Crescent (N-bound)
405m · 7 min walk
Church Road (NE-bound)
491m · 8 min walk
Alexandra Way (NE-bound)
529m · 9 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

94%

Near capacity

197 pupils

210 capacity

13 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - Bristol

Low pressure
New homes approved:21,093
Projected new pupils:5,273

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Bristol

Admissions Demand - South Gloucestershire

Low demand0.88x oversubscription

Places available

3,642

Applications

3,206

Got 1st preference

91.0%

Got preferred school

98.5%

Primary admissions across South Gloucestershire (2025/26)

Inspection History(6)

29 April 2025
Quality of EducationRequires Improvement
Behaviour & AttitudesGood
Personal DevelopmentGood
Leadership & ManagementRequires Improvement
Early YearsRequires Improvement
4 February 2014
OutstandingReport
Leadership & ManagementOutstanding
22 March 2012
Requires ImprovementReport
Quality of EducationRequires Improvement
Behaviour & AttitudesGood
Personal DevelopmentRequires Improvement
Leadership & ManagementRequires Improvement

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SEN Provision

How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.

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Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

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Teachers & Staff

Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.

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School Funding

Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

5.03751%

Overall absence

10.49724%

Persistent absence

181

Enrolments

Authorised3.31347%
Unauthorised1.72403%
Persistent (10%+)10.49724%
Severe (50%+)0%

Absence trend

3.48681%
18/19
2.32258%
20/21
5.52281%
21/22
5.03507%
22/23
4.43624%
23/24
5.03751%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

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