School Chooser

Bourton Meadow Academy

Primary · ages 3-11MixedAcademy571 pupilsNurseryBuckinghamBuckinghamshire
School Chooser Score
80
Above
similar schools
Likely range 67 to 88
Out of 100. Better than 70% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, November 2024
Reached the expected level at 1166%England 63%
Attendance95.5%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families10%Far fewer than most schools
Places135 spare571 pupils, 706 places
Pupils per teacher21.7School workforce census

Bourton Meadow Academy is a converter academy in Buckingham for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 571 pupils and room for 706. About 10 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 80 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 70% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2024, no overall grade.

Burleigh Piece, Linden Village, Buckingham, MK18 7HX01280 823374bourtonmeadow.co.ukMrs Helen Byrom head teacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 12 November 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.

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

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

90 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1166%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level17%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score108.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score105.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 71%71%20172018: 60%60%20182019: 72%72%20192023: 63%63%20232024: 74%74%20242025: 66%66%2025
Since 2017: -5%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017BuckinghamshireEngland
Pupils tested908790899089
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths66%74%63%72%60%71%67%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths17%24%21%21%16%17%11%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score108.0109.0106.0106.0106.0107.0107.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score105.0106.0105.0106.0105.0107.0105.7104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score106.0108.0105.0108.0108.0110.0106.3105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard78%85%74%78%76%85%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard73%78%73%82%73%82%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)74%83%76%85%79%73%
Reading progressReading progress score-0.6-1.6-1.8-0.3
Maths progressMaths progress score-0.8-1.6-1.6-0.5
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged42%25%22%50%45%50%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged69%78%68%75%62%74%

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.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 1 of the 4 gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
42%69%
Gap 27 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
68%64%
Gap 4 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
73%66%
Gap 7 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%17%
Gap 17 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

A few spare places553 pupils for 630 places, 2024/25
88% full

About 77 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have fallen by 4% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

Will my child get a place?

In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.

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 2026. Every child who applied got a place.

EntryPlacesApplied at allHow far the last child livedSource
2026 Primary90all offeredLA
2025 Primary90all offeredLA
2024 Primary90106all offeredLA
2023 Primaryall offeredLA
2022 Primaryall offeredLA

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 roll571Census January 2026
Places70681% full
Pupils from low-income families10%10% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English12%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support11%62 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%16 pupils with a plan
Average class size27.218 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils17%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)10%£75,950 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls288 / 283
White British pupils71%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 28.3 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 26.5 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (34), Specific learning difficulty (13), emotional and mental health (12), Other difficulty or disability (10), Autistic spectrum disorder (5), Hearing impairment (3).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll571602651656637626
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals10%11%9%7%6%5%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language12%12%12%13%9%10%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support10%6%9%9%10%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans2%2%2%3%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.5%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school10.2%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils2.22024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.0%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.6%5.1%5.1%6.2%2.3%3.5%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.5%4.2%4.1%5.5%2.0%2.9%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.0%0.9%1.0%0.8%0.4%0.6%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence10.2%11.8%12.1%16.0%3.8%6.4%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate2.20.50.60.00.2
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers25.4full-time equivalent, 28 people
Pupils per teacher21.7Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers89%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants25.2full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£46,848
Teachers who left in the year23%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher2.32024/25

Money

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

Spend per pupil£6,084England £7,128. Total £3.5m
Income per pupil£6,729England £7,587. Total £3.9m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,106England £3,405
Money in reserve4%Not much put by: £145k, £248 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£376kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,084spent 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 m4012 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate54 per 1,000 people41% lower than the England average
Typical house price£455,000Buckinghamshire
Nearest bus stop80 mBourton Meadow School, 6 stops within 500 m

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
George Grenville AcademyAcademy990 m186Good 202315Compare
Lace Hill AcademyAcademy990 m218Good 202460Compare
Buckingham Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles354No overall grade 202575Compare
Maids Moreton Church of England SchoolChurch of England1.0 miles97Outstanding 202391Compare
St James and St John CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England1.9 miles144Good 202468Compare
Roundwood Primary SchoolCouncil2.0 miles192Report card 202614Compare
Padbury Church of England SchoolAcademy2.1 miles104Report card 202694Compare
Thornborough Infant SchoolCouncil2.2 miles31Good 202349Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Bourton Meadow Academy with the 46 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 46 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats70%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 80 is 14 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 27 · middle 66 · highest 100100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 80 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 80% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 67 to 88. 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%above
+0.17
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 90 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%above
+0.20
Ofsted grade, 1.8 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
-0.03
DfE progress measure; 90 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
-0.01
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.05
2024/25; 510 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%in line
+0.03
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 90 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 Bourton Meadow Academy a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Bourton Meadow Academy scores 80 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 70% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 67 to 88, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Bourton Meadow Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Bourton Meadow Academy not judged at its last full inspection on 12 November 2024.

How good are Bourton Meadow Academy's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 66% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 17% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Bourton Meadow Academy have?

571 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 706 places, so it is 81% full.

Is Bourton Meadow Academy oversubscribed?

Probably not. 77 places were empty in 2024/25 (12% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Bourton Meadow Academy?

Pupils were in school 95.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 10% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Bourton Meadow Academy?

The average class had 27.2 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 17% of classes 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
Burleigh Piece, Linden Village, Buckingham, MK18 7HX
Telephone
01280 823374
Website
www.bourtonmeadow.co.uk
Head Teacher
Mrs Helen Byrom
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Multi-academy trust
Campfire Education Trust (6 schools)
Local authority
Buckinghamshire
Ward
Buckingham
Constituency
Buckingham and Bletchley
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 March 2012 (academy converter)
URN
137939 · LAESTAB 8252340 · UKPRN 10036040
Formerly
Bourton Meadow School

Where these figures come from