School Chooser

Ixworth Church of England Primary School

Primary · ages 2-11MixedAcademyChurch of England163 pupilsNurseryBury St. EdmundsSuffolk
School Chooser Score
17
Below
similar schools
Likely range 8 to 37
Out of 100. Better than 22% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, May 2022
Reached the expected level at 1140%England 63%
Attendance91.9%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families30%A bit more than most schools
Places73 spare163 pupils, 236 places
Pupils per teacher20.2School workforce census

Ixworth Church of England Primary School is a sponsored academy in Bury St. Edmunds for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 163 pupils and room for 236. About 30 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit more than at most schools. We give it 17 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 22% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2022.

Crown Lane, Ixworth, Bury St. Edmunds, IP31 2EL01359 230228sites.google.com/tilian.org.uk/ixworthceprimary/homeMrs Marie Bird headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 17 May 2022, 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

This inspection is more than 4 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1140%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score107.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score106.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 82%82%20172018: 57%57%20182019: 43%43%20192023: 48%48%20232024: 52%52%20242025: 40%40%2025
Since 2017: -42%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure20252024202320192018†2017†SuffolkEngland
Pupils tested202727212128
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths40%52%48%43%57%82%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%5%5%7%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score107.0105.0104.0103.0104.0108.0105.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score106.0100.0101.0103.0101.0105.0103.7104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score103.0102.0103.0103.0102.0107.0103.8105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard80%74%70%48%76%93%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard85%63%56%67%62%89%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)40%63%56%67%67%89%
Reading progressReading progress score-0.9-3.0-1.5-1.5
Maths progressMaths progress score-2.7-2.1-4.0-3.8
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged25%50%29%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged63%47%50%

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.

† These results are for Ixworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, the school this one replaced in December 2017. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

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. None of the 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 11Boys vs girls
25%63%
Gap 38 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. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

Plenty of spare places118 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
56% full

92 places were empty (44% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Suffolk council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

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 roll163Census January 2026
Places23669% full
Pupils from low-income families27%30% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English1%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support20%33 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%4 pupils with a plan
Average class size23.54 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%£54,250 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls72 / 91
White British pupils95%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 26.5 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 20.5 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (15), language and communications needs (12), Autistic spectrum disorder (6), emotional and mental health (2), Specific learning difficulty (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll163152134138130130
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals27%20%22%18%15%11%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language1%1%2%1%4%2%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support16%15%19%15%16%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans1%2%0%1%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 91.9% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance91.9%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school22.3%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils34.22024/25, 1 permanent exclusion
Missed without permission2.9%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence8.1%6.1%7.1%9.6%4.7%4.0%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence5.2%5.0%5.7%7.3%3.7%3.3%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.9%1.1%1.4%2.3%1.0%0.7%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence22.3%14.3%14.4%29.4%5.7%4.9%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate34.232.130.434.612.3
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions10000

Staff and money

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

Teachers7.2full-time equivalent, 9 people
Pupils per teacher20.2Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants10.2full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£45,980
Teachers who left in the year19%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies1
Sick days per teacher3.12024/25

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£7,124England £7,128. Total £976k
Income per pupil£7,920England £7,587. Total £1.1m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,095England £3,405
Money in reserve18%A healthy amount put by: £199k, £1,453 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£109kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£7,124spent 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 m5312 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate28 per 1,000 people69% lower than the England average
Typical house price£290,000West Suffolk
Nearest bus stop250 mGreyhound, 12 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
Bardwell Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy2.2 miles54Good 202265Compare
Stanton Primary SchoolAcademy2.8 miles218Good 2024Compare
Honington Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy2.9 miles145Good 2021Compare
Norton CEVC Primary SchoolChurch of England3.2 miles203No overall grade 202487Compare
Thurston Church of England Primary AcademyAcademy3.3 miles349No overall grade 202430Compare
Great Barton Church of England Primary AcademyAcademy3.4 miles188Good 202357Compare
Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolChurch of England4.4 miles70No overall grade 202552Compare
Walsham-le-Willows Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolChurch of England4.5 miles117Good 202369Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Ixworth Church of England Primary School with the 49 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 49 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats22%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the bottom quarter of its group. Its score of 17 is 15 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 33 · highest 93100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 49 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Ixworth Church of England Primary School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Bildeston Primary SchoolCouncil13.7 miles117Good 202274Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 17 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 17% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 8 to 37. 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
-0.15
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 20 pupils
Ofsted inspection17% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 4.3 years old
Progress pupils make20%below
-0.14
DfE progress measure; 20 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
+0.03
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well below
-0.14
2024/25; 112 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%below
-0.09
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 20 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 Ixworth Church of England Primary School a good school?

The figures are weak. Ixworth Church of England Primary School scores 17 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 22% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 8 to 37, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Ixworth Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Ixworth Church of England Primary School good at its last full inspection on 17 May 2022. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.

How good are Ixworth Church of England Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 40% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Ixworth Church of England Primary School have?

163 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 236 places, so it is 69% full.

Is Ixworth Church of England Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 92 places were empty in 2024/25 (44% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Ixworth Church of England Primary School?

Pupils were in school 91.9% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 22% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Ixworth Church of England Primary School?

The average class had 23.5 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
Crown Lane, Ixworth, Bury St. Edmunds, IP31 2EL
Telephone
01359 230228
Website
sites.google.com/tilian.org.uk/ixworthceprimary/home
Headteacher
Mrs Marie Bird
Type of school
Sponsored academy (Academy sponsor led, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 2-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England, Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
Multi-academy trust
The Tilian Partnership (15 schools)
Local authority
Suffolk
Ward
Ixworth
Constituency
Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket
Setting
Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
Opened
1 December 2017 (new provision)
URN
145234 · LAESTAB 9352212 · UKPRN 10066002
Formerly
Ixworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Where these figures come from