Combs Ford Primary School

Academy converter·Primary school Stowmarket, Suffolk·IP14 2PN
Composite score
34.0
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#12,602
National rank
#1394
In East of England
#185
In Suffolk
Top 85%
Nationally

Performance (KS2 SATs)

% meeting expected RWM
47%
% achieving higher RWM
3%
Reading average scaled score
103.0
National avg ≈ 105
Maths average scaled score
101.0
National avg ≈ 104
Reading progress
—
Maths progress
—

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Quality of education
Requires improvement
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Requires improvement
Safeguarding effective?
Yes
Early years provision
Good

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
30 first choices, 33 places
First choices per place
0.91
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
61
any preference, for 33 places
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.01
00.511.5
1 per place
0.9620220.9820230.9220240.9020250.912026

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

Every child who put Combs Ford Primary 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).

School profile

Age range
4–11
Pupils on roll
337
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
23.1%
Typical primary: 21.5%
% EAL
5.9%
Typical primary: 9.6%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
13.3%
Typical primary: 14.3%
% with an EHC plan
3.6%
Typical primary: 3.0%

Attendance

Overall absence
5.5%
Typical primary: 5.3%
Persistently absent
12.9%
Typical primary: 13.3%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
19.3
Typical primary: 20.7
Spend per pupil
£6,421
Typical primary: £6,960

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

Nearby primary schools

Location

School overview

Combs Ford Primary School is a primary school serving Stowmarket, Suffolk, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. It has 337 pupils aged 4 to 11 on roll. In the most recent Key Stage 2 SATs, 47% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — below the national average of 61%. That is down 1.0 percentage points in the proportion reaching the expected standard on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of primary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 103 in reading and 101 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 3% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). Combs Ford Primary School was not oversubscribed for September 2026: all 30 families who put it first were offered a place. Overall pupil absence was 5.5%. There are about 19.3 pupils per teacher. Combs Ford Primary School does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. 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.

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