St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School, Farnham Royal
St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Farnham Royal. It has a Church of England religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in November 2015. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in September 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 143rd-highest of the 144 schools in Buckinghamshire with published results, and 14,057th of 14,452 across England. It was 65% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2015)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- Below England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Buckinghamshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School in detail
St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "Located in the village of Farnham Royal, we are hidden away in a quiet road, opposite St Mary's Farnham Royal Church. With easy access to the main road between Slough and Beaconsfield, we are the ideal choice for children who will benefit from a small family-orientated school."
Headteacher's welcome (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 54% of Year 6 pupils at St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 42% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 81% and 77% in Buckinghamshire and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 73% in reading and 55% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 32 families put St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School as their first choice and 58 named it as one of their preferences, for 30 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 3 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School are St Anthony's Catholic Primary School (0.2 miles, Good, 75% reading, 66% maths); Penn Wood Primary and Nursery School (0.4 miles, Good, 88% reading, 88% maths); Claycots School (0.5 miles, Good, 73% reading, 71% maths); and Phoenix Infant Academy (0.8 miles, Good).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School.
St Anthony's Catholic Primary SchoolPenn Wood Primary and Nursery SchoolClaycots SchoolPhoenix Infant Academy
What parents say
33 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School (as of September 2025): 91% would recommend the school, 97% say their child is happy there and 60% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (97%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (60%).
Who goes there
In 2026, 49 pupils (19.1%) received SEN support and 21 (8.2%) 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 speech, language and communication needs.
Staffing
St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School had 20 teachers in 2026, one for every 12 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Burnham (Berks) Rail Station, about 1.6 miles away in a straight line.
7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Stoke Park (opposite), 250 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 251 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and other theft. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Buckinghamshire (44), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School issued 22 suspensions, 8.9 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School are Beechwood School (0.3 miles); Baylis Court School (0.8 miles); Herschel Grammar School (1.1 miles); and Eden Girls' School, Slough (1.5 miles).
Beechwood SchoolBaylis Court SchoolHerschel Grammar SchoolEden Girls' School, Slough
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; 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 November 2015, 10 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils know the school's values of 'faith, family, future and flourish' deeply. Pupils talk confidently about how the school helps them to be kind as a starting point for their relationships and learning. Staff and pupils model calm, warm interactions that reflect the school's values wonderfully. From the beginning of the early years, children settle into school routines quickly.
Pupils enjoy school and feel safe. They trust the adults that look after them. Pupils learn about safety, including keeping themselves safe when online. They understand some of the opportunities and potential dangers of the internet and digital media. Behaviour in lessons and on the playground is positive and respectful. Pupils take on roles and responsibilities such as house captains and sports leaders. These help older pupils to thrive and contribute to school life in meaningful ways.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school is ambitious for all pupils. The curriculum builds learning through thoughtful sequences of lessons. The school has worked closely with staff to develop their subject knowledge and train them to implement the curriculum effectively. In some subjects, staff training has had a clearly positive impact on pupils' learning. However, this is not as fully consistent as it could be across all subjects. A small proportion of pupils, therefore, do not achieve as well as they could. Typically, staff check pupils' learning and adjust their teaching in response. In physical education (PE), for example, lessons have a notable impact on pupils' learning over time and in mathematics pupils develop their knowledge and skills securely. However, at times teachers' checks on pupils' learning within some subjects do not support pupils' learning as positively.
From Ofsted's September 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 November 2015 inspection - up from Requires Improvement.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
27.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
33 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 73% to 54% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 55% to 42% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 65% to 42% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
20.2
Avg class size
22.3
Infant (KS1)
20.0
KS2
11
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Social & online
Keep up with St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School.
- GetActive@StAnthony370m away · Not yet graded
- Premier Education Clubs at Penn Wood Primary School650m away · Not yet graded
- Slough Tuition Centre980m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School is a voluntary aided school, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Buckinghamshire's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School is in Buckinghamshire; for families living there:
- Buckinghamshire's school travel policy: Home to School Transport Policy (0 to 25 Year Olds)
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 10
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 10 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 9 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
1 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 Buckinghamshire is 4 (the median across 274 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 St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School
Will you get a place at St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School.
- Buckinghamshire publishes last distance offered figures, but none for St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Buckinghamshire 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
65%
Available places
235 pupils
363 places
128 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Farnham Royal
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Farnham Royal
Across Buckinghamshire council
Places available
6,722
Applications
5,630
Got 1st preference
91.6%
Got preferred school
98.6%
All primary applications across Buckinghamshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(13)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
49
SEN Support
21
EHC Plans
27.3%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
256
Total Pupils
145
Boys
111
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
20
Teachers
12.8:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£51,109
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,811
Per pupil
£1539k
Total funding
£108k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
6.9%
Overall absence
23.2%
Persistent absence
211
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School
Questions parents ask about St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School
What are SATs results like at St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School?
Of the pupils at St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 54% reached the expected standard in reading and 42% did so in maths.
What is St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?
St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in September 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in November 2015, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School is oversubscribed, Buckinghamshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School?
St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 65% of its 363 places.
How big are the classes at St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School?
Classes at St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School average 20.2 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School?
St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School has around 256 pupils on roll. 27% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School?
6.9% of sessions were missed at St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School in 2024/25. 23.2% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School?
Apply through Buckinghamshire's coordinated admissions process, naming St Mary's Farnham Royal 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.
Does St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists 3 out-of-school clubs within a kilometre of St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School: GetActive@StAnthony (370m away, registered, not yet graded), Premier Education Clubs at Penn Wood Primary School (650m away, registered, not yet graded) and Slough Tuition Centre (980m away, registered, not yet graded). The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
How many road collisions happen near St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 10 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 9 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 1 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 Buckinghamshire is 4 (the median across 274 schools, same distance and years).
Where is St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School?
St Mary's Farnham Royal CofE Primary School is at Church Road, Farnham Royal, Buckinghamshire, SL2 3AW.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)