School Chooser

Benwick Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedCouncil105 pupilsMarchCambridgeshire
School Chooser Score
28
Below
similar schools
Likely range 10 to 61, so it could be “in line”
Out of 100. Better than 60% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, July 2023
Reached the expected level at 1164%England 63%
Attendance95.6%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families29%About the same as most schools in England
Places35 spare105 pupils, 140 places
Pupils per teacher18.7School workforce census

Benwick Primary School is a council school in March for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 105 pupils and room for 140. About 29 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. We give it 28 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 60% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

High Street, Benwick, March, PE15 0XA01354 677266benwick.cambs.sch.ukMrs Clare Talbot headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 11 July 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

14 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 1164%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level7%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score104.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score102.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 40%40%20172018: 33%33%20182019: 44%44%20192023: 38%38%20232024: 44%44%20242025: 64%64%2025
Since 2017: +24%Improving overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017CambridgeshireEngland
Pupils tested141613181815
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths64%44%38%44%33%40%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths7%0%0%11%0%7%8%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score104.0103.0103.0102.0102.0101.0106.0105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score102.0102.098.0102.097.099.0104.6104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score102.099.0102.0103.0101.0102.0105.2105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard79%44%69%67%67%60%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard71%63%38%67%44%40%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)79%81%62%56%67%60%
Reading progressReading progress score-3.4-0.1-2.1-1.7
Maths progressMaths progress score-7.8-0.9-5.8-4.2
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged22%11%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged67%56%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Plenty of spare places99 pupils for 150 places, 2024/25
66% full

51 places were empty (34% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have grown by 3% since 2021/22.

Will my child get a place?

The last child to get a place lived 4.8 miles away in 2024, 1.6 miles away in 2022. Those cut-offs are for children living outside the catchment area; every child inside it got a place. Brothers and sisters of current pupils and other priority groups are placed first. Type in your postcode to see how far away you are.

We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.

How places were given out for September 2024. More children applied than there were places. The last place went to a child living 4.8 miles from the school. Living closer than that didn't guarantee a place, but living much further away meant missing out that year.

EntryPlacesGot a placeHow far the last child livedSource
2024 Primary20204.8 milesLA
2022 Primary20201.6 miles (distance, outside the catchment area)LA

The distances are the council's own, usually measured in a straight line from home to the school gate. If the distance is getting shorter each year, the school is getting harder to get into. See which councils we have this data for.

What a home within 1.6 miles of the school costs

Typical sale price within 1.6 miles of the school£241,250half sold for £176k to £331k
Homes sold24December 2023 to December 2025, Land Registry
Compared with the district+3%a typical home in the district sells for £235,000

Every home sold within that distance of the school (the typical cut-off over the last three years), of any type, from HM Land Registry records. If homes here cost more than the district average, that is the price people pay to live close enough to get in.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll105Census January 2026
Places14075% full
Pupils from low-income families29%29% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English4%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support20%21 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan7%7 pupils with a plan
Average class size26.03 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)28%£43,400 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls54 / 51
White British pupils83%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 30.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 30.0 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (10), Moderate learning difficulty (7), emotional and mental health (5), Autistic spectrum disorder (2), Other difficulty or disability (2), Physical disability (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll10598989995103
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals29%29%33%34%33%30%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language4%2%1%2%2%1%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support28%16%13%11%20%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans5%7%7%5%3%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.6%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school11.8%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils2.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.9%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.4%4.7%6.0%6.6%3.8%5.2%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.5%3.8%4.3%5.3%3.3%3.1%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.9%0.9%1.7%1.3%0.5%2.0%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence11.8%6.5%14.3%18.0%12.0%14.5%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate2.04.16.18.413.6
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers5.6full-time equivalent, 6 people
Pupils per teacher18.7Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants6.4full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£53,624
Teachers who left in the year0%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher2.72024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£8,435England £7,738. Total £827k
Income per pupil£7,986England £7,697. Total £783k
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,984England £3,480
Money in reserve9%A healthy amount put by: £68k, £697 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£44kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£8,435spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m3612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate43 per 1,000 people53% lower than the England average
Typical house price£235,000Fenland

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Lionel Walden Primary SchoolCouncil3.8 miles205Good 202364Compare
Kingsfield Primary SchoolAcademy3.8 miles268Good 202212Compare
Glebelands Primary AcademyAcademy4.2 miles401Not inspected34Compare
Cromwell Community CollegeAcademy4.3 miles1,539Good 202337Compare
Thomas Eaton Primary AcademyAcademy4.7 miles126Good 202312Compare
Ramsey Junior SchoolAcademy4.7 miles272Not inspected27Compare
Ramsey Spinning Infant SchoolAcademy4.8 miles223Not inspectedCompare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Benwick Primary School with the 47 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 47 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats60%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 28 is about the same as the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 0 · middle 25 · highest 72100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 28 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 28% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 10 to 61. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%below
-0.17
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 14 pupils
Ofsted inspection20% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.2 years old
Progress pupils make20%well below
-0.27
DfE progress measure; 14 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%well above
+0.18
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
+0.02
2024/25; 85 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%below
-0.05
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 14 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Benwick Primary School a good school?

The figures are weak. Benwick Primary School scores 28 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 60% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 10 to 61, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been getting better over the last five years.

What is Benwick Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Benwick Primary School good at its last full inspection on 11 July 2023.

How good are Benwick Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 64% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 7% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does Benwick Primary School have?

105 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 140 places, so it is 75% full.

Is Benwick Primary School oversubscribed, and how far away can you live?

Yes. For September 2024 the last place went to a child living 4.8 miles away. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils and other priority groups come before distance, so the cut-off moves every year.

What is attendance like at Benwick Primary School?

Pupils were in school 95.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 12% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Benwick Primary School?

The average class had 26.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
High Street, Benwick, March, PE15 0XA
Telephone
01354 677266
Website
www.benwick.cambs.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Clare Talbot
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Cambridgeshire
Ward
March West & Benwick
Constituency
North East Cambridgeshire
Setting
Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
Opened
1 January 1900
URN
110627 · LAESTAB 8732060 · UKPRN 10077876

Where these figures come from