Mells Church First School
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Mells Church First School is a converter academy in Frome for boys and girls aged 5 to 9. It has 51 pupils and room for 90. About 8 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 51 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 62% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2021.
Mells Green, Mells, Frome, BA11 3QE01373 812380beckingtonandmellsfederation.co.ukMr Rory McGrath headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 13 October 2021 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.
This inspection is more than 4 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.
Results
No published results yet for this school.
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.
30 places were empty (33% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in.
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 Somerset 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.
Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 21.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 15.0 (England 27.3).
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (3), emotional and mental health (3), Hearing impairment (1), Specific learning difficulty (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 51 | 59 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 8% | 9% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 10% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 7% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24† | 2022/23† | 2021/22† | 2020/21† | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 6.5% | 5.9% | 6.1% | 7.4% | 2.5% | 4.6% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 4.2% | 3.5% | 4.5% | 6.7% | 2.2% | 3.0% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.3% | 2.4% | 1.7% | 0.7% | 0.3% | 1.6% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 11.8% | 12.3% | 10.4% | 18.2% | 5.1% | 14.8% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 1.7 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
† These attendance figures are for Mells Church of England First School, the school this one replaced in December 2024. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
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.
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
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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leigh On Mendip School | Academy | 2.0 miles | 105 | Good 2023 | 73 | Compare |
| Nunney First School | Academy | 2.3 miles | 76 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Bishop Henderson Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 2.5 miles | 133 | Report card 2025 | 14 | Compare |
| Trinity Church of England First School | Academy | 2.7 miles | 297 | Good 2023 | 69 | Compare |
| Oakfield Academy | Academy | 2.8 miles | 490 | Requires improvement 2024 | 3 | Compare |
| Hemington Primary School | Academy | 3.0 miles | 53 | Good 2024 | 15 | Compare |
| Kilmersdon Church School | Academy | 3.1 miles | 109 | Requires improvement 2024 | 0 | Compare |
| Vallis First School | Council | 3.3 miles | 185 | No overall grade 2025 | 29 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Mells Church First 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.
Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher
Of those 47 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Mells Church First 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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horningsham Primary School | Council | 7.6 miles | 68 | Report card 2026 | 73 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 51 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 51% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 21 to 80. 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 at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Ofsted inspection | 15% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | in line | +0.03 | Ofsted grade, 4.9 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | in line | -0.03 | 2024/25; 51 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 0% | 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 Mells Church First School a good school?
It is about average. Mells Church First School scores 51 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 62% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 21 to 80, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Mells Church First School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Mells Church First School good at its last full inspection on 13 October 2021. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.
How many pupils does Mells Church First School have?
51 pupils aged 5 to 9 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 90 places, so it is 57% full.
Is Mells Church First School oversubscribed?
Probably not. 30 places were empty in 2024/25 (33% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at Mells Church First School?
Pupils were in school 93.5% 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 Mells Church First School?
The average class had 17.0 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
- Mells Green, Mells, Frome, BA11 3QE
- Telephone
- 01373 812380
- Website
- beckingtonandmellsfederation.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Rory McGrath
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 5-9
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England, Diocese of Bath and Wells
- Multi-academy trust
- The Bath and Wells Diocesan Academies Trust (46 schools)
- Local authority
- Somerset
- Ward
- Mendip Central and East
- Constituency
- Frome and East Somerset
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 December 2024 (academy converter)
- URN
- 151284 · LAESTAB 9333078 · UKPRN 10096344
- Formerly
- Mells Church of England First School
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.