School Chooser

Shifnal Primary School

Primary · ages 2-11MixedCouncil379 pupilsNurseryShifnalShropshire
School Chooser Score
76
Above
similar schools
Likely range 58 to 87
Out of 100. Better than 72% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, March 2023
Reached the expected level at 1172%England 63%
Attendance94.6%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families14%Far fewer than most schools
PlacesFull379 pupils, 350 places
Pupils per teacher23.1School workforce census

Shifnal Primary School is a council school in Shifnal for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 379 pupils, 29 more than it has places for. About 14 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 76 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 72% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

Curriers Lane, Shifnal, TF11 8EJ01952 460500shifnalprimary.co.ukMr Adam Farrington headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 3 March 2023 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.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1172%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level15%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score110.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score110.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 79%79%20172018: 78%78%20182019: 86%86%20192023: 89%89%20232024: 60%60%20242025: 72%72%2025
Since 2017: -7%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017ShropshireEngland
Pupils tested475547514034
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths72%60%89%86%78%79%59%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths15%5%15%12%15%21%6%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score110.0107.0109.0108.0109.0107.0105.0105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score110.0105.0108.0108.0107.0107.0103.5104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score113.0109.0112.0110.0109.0107.0104.2105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard98%87%96%94%90%91%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard96%82%94%90%88%94%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)74%65%89%100%85%82%
Reading progressReading progress score+2.5+2.0+3.0+2.7
Maths progressMaths progress score+2.5+1.4+1.8+2.8
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged67%38%82%100%83%78%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged73%67%92%83%75%80%

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. 2 of the 3 gaps are 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
67%73%
Gap 6 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
62%89%
Gap 27 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
17%15%
Gap 2 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.

Nearly full342 pupils for 350 places, 2024/25
98% full

Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

Will my child get a place?

The last child to get a place lived 990 m away in 2026. 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 2026. Every child in the catchment area who applied got a place. Outside the catchment, the last place went to a child living 990 m away.

EntryPlacesPut it firstApplied at allGot a placeHow far the last child livedSource
2026 Primary505111250990 m (distance, outside the catchment area)LA

What a home within 990 m of the school costs

Typical sale price within 990 m of the school£250,000half sold for £205k to £335k
Homes sold229December 2023 to December 2025, Land Registry
Compared with the district-9%a typical home in the district sells for £275,000

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 roll379Census January 2026
Places350108% full
Pupils from low-income families15%14% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English3%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support7%28 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan4%15 pupils with a plan
Average class size27.111 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils27%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)15%£77,500 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls186 / 193
White British pupils86%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (16), language and communications needs (12), Moderate learning difficulty (9), Specific learning difficulty (3), Autistic spectrum disorder (2), Physical disability (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll379387401401400403
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals15%14%15%17%13%12%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language3%3%2%3%2%3%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support7%8%7%6%4%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans4%2%2%2%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.6%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school14.3%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.82024/25, 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 absence5.4%5.7%6.0%7.2%4.1%4.4%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.4%4.7%5.1%6.1%3.6%3.8%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.0%1.0%0.9%1.1%0.6%0.6%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence14.3%13.8%15.4%19.1%8.8%9.0%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.80.31.01.82.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00100

Staff and money

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

Teachers15.7full-time equivalent, 18 people
Pupils per teacher23.1Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants14.8full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£51,289
Teachers who left in the year11%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher12.92024/25

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£6,645England £7,738. Total £2.4m
Income per pupil£6,352England £7,697. Total £2.3m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,826England £3,480
Money in reserve4%Not much put by: £87k, £236 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£108kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£6,645spent 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 m19612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate52 per 1,000 people43% lower than the England average
Typical house price£275,000Shropshire

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
St Andrew's CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England0.8 miles398Good 202364Compare
Thomas Telford Primary Free SchoolFree school2.1 miles149Not inspectedCompare
Sheriffhales Primary School and PreschoolCouncil2.3 miles100No overall grade 202582Compare
Redhill Primary AcademyAcademy2.6 miles491Outstanding 202497Compare
Priorslee AcademyAcademy2.7 miles434Report card 202620Compare
Hollinswood Primary SchoolCouncil3.0 miles340Not inspected43Compare
Grange Park Primary SchoolAcademy3.1 miles474No overall grade 202489Compare
Randlay Primary SchoolCouncil3.1 miles327Good 202264Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Shifnal Primary School with the 43 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 43 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats72%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 76 is 12 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 3 · middle 64 · highest 97100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 76 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 76% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 58 to 87. 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
+0.16
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 47 pupils
Ofsted inspection19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.5 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.14
DfE progress measure; 47 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.04
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
-0.01
2024/25; 308 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%above
+0.08
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 47 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 Shifnal Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Shifnal Primary School scores 76 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 72% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 58 to 87, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Shifnal Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Shifnal Primary School good at its last full inspection on 3 March 2023.

How good are Shifnal Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 72% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 15% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Shifnal Primary School have?

379 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 350 places, so it is 108% full.

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

Yes. For September 2026 the last place went to a child living 990 m 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 Shifnal Primary School?

Pupils were in school 94.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 14% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Shifnal Primary School?

The average class had 27.1 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 27% 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
Curriers Lane, Shifnal, TF11 8EJ
Telephone
01952 460500
Website
www.shifnalprimary.co.uk
Headteacher
Mr Adam Farrington
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 2-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Shropshire
Ward
Shifnal North
Constituency
The Wrekin
Setting
Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
123424 · LAESTAB 8932146 · UKPRN 10073903

Where these figures come from