St Mary's VA CofE Lower School

Voluntary aided school·First school Clophill, Central Bedfordshire·MK45 4BE

School type

First school

Ages 2–9

Key Stage 2 performance

St Mary's VA CofE Lower School is a first school for pupils aged 2–9. Pupils move on to a separate junior or middle school before Year 6, so the school does not enter pupils for the Key Stage 2 SATs and has no KS2 results to publish.

This applies to every first school in England — it does not mean data is missing. Ofsted judgements and school information are shown below.

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first

100%

23 first choices, 26 places

First choices per place

0.89

fewer first choices than places

Applications naming the school

any preference, for 26 places

Applications from another council area

First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.06

00.511.5

1 per place

1.0020221.0020230.9620240.9520250.892026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Every child who put St Mary's VA CofE Lower School first was offered a place in 2026, so no distance cut-off applied: living further away did not cost a place that year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

Ofsted judgements

New framework · Last inspection: 03/03/2026 · Read full report ↗

Achievement

Expected standard

Leadership and governance

Strong standard

Curriculum and teaching

Expected standard

Attendance and behaviour

Strong standard

Personal development and wellbeing

Strong standard

Inclusion

Strong standard

Safeguarding standards

Met

Early years

Strong standard

School profile

Age range: 2–9
Pupils on roll: 143
Gender: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6

11.3%

Typical primary: 21.5%

% EAL

2.1%

Typical primary: 9.6%

Special educational needs

% SEN support

7.7%

Typical primary: 14.3%

% with an EHC plan

3.5%

Typical primary: 3.0%

Attendance

Overall absence

4.7%

Typical primary: 5.3%

Persistently absent

10.5%

Typical primary: 13.3%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher

18.3

Typical primary: 20.7

Spend per pupil

£7,774

Typical primary: £6,960

“Typical” = the median primary school in England. What this means

Nearby primary schools

Meppershall Church of England Academy Shefford · 3.2 mi 19.5 Robert Bloomfield Academy Shefford · 3.2 mi 30.8 Alameda Middle School Bedford · 3.5 mi 36.6 Woodland Middle School Academy Bedford · 4.1 mi 26.5 Arnold Academy Bedford · 4.6 mi 47.2 Clifton All Saints Academy Near Shefford · 4.8 mi 59.8 Derwent Primary School Henlow · 5.3 mi 57.7 Raynsford Church of England Academy Henlow · 5.5 mi 64.3

Location

Official sources

Latest Ofsted report reports.ofsted.gov.uk DfE Compare School Performance compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk GIAS school details get-information-schools.service.gov.uk

St Mary's VA CofE Lower School at a glance

Located in Clophill, Central Bedfordshire, St Mary's VA CofE Lower School is a primary school, classified by the DfE as a voluntary aided school with a Church of England religious character. The school educates roughly 143 pupils aged 2 to 9. Ofsted judged the school to be 'Good' when it was last inspected in March 2026.

Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made St Mary's VA CofE Lower School their first choice was offered one of its 26 Reception places. Overall pupil absence was 4.7%. There are about 18.3 pupils per teacher. Its intake is relatively advantaged, with around 11% of pupils eligible for free school meals in the last six years versus about 24% nationally. When comparing schools, it is still worth visiting in person to see whether the atmosphere and approach suit your child. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.