St Andrew's CofE VC Primary School
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St Andrew's CofE VC Primary School is a Church of England school (voluntary controlled) in Biggleswade for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 945 pupils and room for 1,020. About 12 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 5 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 0% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in March 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.
Brunts Lane, Biggleswade, SG18 0LY01767 312311standrewslowerschool.co.ukMrs Sue Rolfe headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted visited on 10 March 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.
Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 19 November 2021 | Ungraded | School remains Good |
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.
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 grown by 14% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.
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 Central Bedfordshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
What parents say
From Ofsted's Parent View survey: 103 parents answered in the year to 6 April 2026. Parents choose whether to fill it in, and many only do so when an inspection is coming, so don't read too much into small differences. The England figures are the average for primary schools with enough answers to publish.
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.
Specialist SEND provision. Resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) with 3 pupils, for speech, language and communication.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Central Bedfordshire with speech, language and communication provision.
Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 28.6 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 27.2 (England 27.3).
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (64), language and communications needs (55), Moderate learning difficulty (28), Autistic spectrum disorder (19), Other difficulty or disability (14), Specific learning difficulty (14).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 945 | 894 | 824 | 792 | 774 | 761 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 13% | 10% | 10% | 12% | 12% | 11% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 4% | 5% | 4% | 5% | 5% | 5% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 13% | 13% | 15% | 14% | 15% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 4% | 4% | 3% | 3% | 3% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.4% 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 | 4.6% | 5.1% | 5.4% | 6.8% | 3.9% | 3.3% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 3.6% | 4.1% | 4.3% | 5.7% | 3.3% | 2.5% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 0.6% | 0.7% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 9.4% | 11.1% | 11.5% | 18.7% | 9.7% | 5.2% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 1.9 | 2.7 | 4.6 | 1.8 | 1.1 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
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.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawnside Academy | Academy | 680 m | 283 | Good 2023 | 41 | Compare |
| Biggleswade Academy | Academy | 0.9 miles | 839 | Good 2024 | 47 | Compare |
| Caldecote Church of England Academy | Academy | 1.4 miles | 85 | Good 2024 | 2 | Compare |
| Langford Village Academy | Academy | 2.1 miles | 295 | Good 2024 | 24 | Compare |
| Sutton CofE VA Primary School | Church of England | 2.6 miles | 98 | Report card 2025 | 81 | Compare |
| St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School | Church of England | 2.6 miles | 172 | Good 2022 | 16 | Compare |
| Northill CofE Academy | Academy | 2.7 miles | 66 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Dunton CofE Junior School | Church of England | 3.0 miles | 66 | Good 2023 | 77 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares St Andrew's CofE VC 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.
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 St Andrew's CofE VC 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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biggleswade Academy | Academy | 0.9 miles | 839 | Good 2024 | 47 | Compare |
| Shefford Lower School | Council | 5.0 miles | 514 | Good 2023 | 44 | Compare |
| Marston Moreteyne VC School | Church of England | 12.2 miles | 624 | Good 2024 | 54 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 5 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 5% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 3 to 11. 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 | 20% | well below | -0.85 | Ofsted report card, 0.5 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | in line | +0.06 | results and attendance rising year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | above | +0.10 | 2024/25; 808 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 5% | well below | -0.26 | Ofsted's Parent View survey, allowing for how many parents replied; 103 responses |
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 St Andrew's CofE VC Primary School a good school?
The figures are weak. St Andrew's CofE VC Primary School scores 5 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 0% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 3 to 11, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is St Andrew's CofE VC Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 10 March 2026 it rated teaching as needs attention, achievement as needs attention, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as needs attention.
How many pupils does St Andrew's CofE VC Primary School have?
945 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 1,020 places, so it is 93% full.
Is St Andrew's CofE VC Primary School oversubscribed?
Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.
What is attendance like at St Andrew's CofE VC Primary School?
Pupils were in school 95.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 9% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
What do parents say about St Andrew's CofE VC Primary School?
61% of the 103 parents who answered Ofsted's Parent View survey would recommend it to other parents, and 75% say their child is happy there. Across England, 87% of parents would recommend their child's school.
How big are the classes at St Andrew's CofE VC Primary School?
The average class had 27.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 9% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does St Andrew's CofE VC Primary School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) for speech, language and communication. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Brunts Lane, Biggleswade, SG18 0LY
- Telephone
- 01767 312311
- Website
- www.standrewslowerschool.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sue Rolfe
- Type of school
- Church of England school (voluntary controlled) (Voluntary controlled school, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 4-11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England, Diocese of St Albans
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Ward
- Biggleswade West
- Constituency
- North Bedfordshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 109595 · LAESTAB 8233001 · UKPRN 10077759
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, consistent financial reporting 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.