School Chooser

St Edmund's Catholic Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedAcademyRoman Catholic216 pupilsGodalmingSurrey
School Chooser Score
92
Well above
similar schools
Likely range 82 to 97
Out of 100. Better than 72% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, February 2024
Reached the expected level at 1183%England 63%
Attendance96.1%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families4%Far fewer than most schools
PlacesFull216 pupils, 216 places
Pupils per teacher22.8School workforce census

St Edmund's Catholic Primary School is a converter academy in Godalming for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 216 pupils and every place is taken. About 4 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 92 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 72% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

The Drive, Godalming, GU7 1PF01483 414497stedmundsschool.co.ukMrs Elizabeth Higgins headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 21 February 2024 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

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

Reached the expected level at 1183%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level21%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score109.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score108.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 80%80%20172018: 75%75%20182019: 80%80%20192023: 80%80%20232024: 81%81%20242025: 83%83%2025
Since 2017: +3%Improving overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure2025202420232019†2018†2017†SurreyEngland
Pupils tested293130302830
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths83%81%80%80%75%80%67%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths21%6%13%33%21%10%11%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score109.0108.0108.0110.0110.0107.0107.0105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score108.0108.0106.0109.0108.0105.0105.6104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score107.0106.0106.0111.0109.0110.0106.3105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard90%90%90%87%89%90%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard90%94%93%97%93%87%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)86%90%83%87%79%87%
Reading progressReading progress score+2.8+1.9+2.0+1.5
Maths progressMaths progress score+2.2+0.9+0.6-1.2

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 St Edmund's Catholic Primary School, the school this one replaced in April 2021. 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. Every gap at this school 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
81%85%
Gap 4 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 Roman Catholic school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

Full215 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
102% full

The school is full, with 5 more pupils than it has places for. More families apply than can get in, so things like how close you live and whether an older brother or sister is already here decide who gets a place. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

Will my child get a place?

The last child to get a place lived 3.5 miles away in 2026. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils, faith and other priority groups are placed first. After that, the closer you live, the better your chances. 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. More children applied than there were places. The last place went to a child living 3.5 miles from the school. Living closer than that didn't guarantee a place, but living much further away meant missing out that year.

EntryPlacesGot a placeHow far the last child livedSource
2026 Primary30303.5 milesLA
2025 Primary3029all offeredLA
2024 Primary3026all 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 roll216Census January 2026
Places216100% full
Pupils from low-income families4%4% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English13%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support17%36 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%6 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)4%£12,400 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls111 / 105
White British pupils68%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (15), emotional and mental health (11), Specific learning difficulty (6), Autistic spectrum disorder (4), Moderate learning difficulty (2), Other difficulty or disability (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census20262025202420232022
Pupils on roll216211210212209
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals4%5%4%4%4%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language13%14%15%12%7%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support13%14%15%9%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans3%2%2%3%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.1% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.1%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school6.9%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils5.22024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.8%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21†2018/19†England
Sessions missedOverall absence3.9%4.4%4.6%4.7%2.5%2.9%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.1%3.6%3.3%4.0%1.9%2.3%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.8%0.8%1.3%0.7%0.6%0.5%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence6.9%6.0%8.6%8.2%2.8%3.3%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate5.21.90.00.00.5
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

† These attendance figures are for St Edmund's Catholic Primary School, the school this one replaced in April 2021. 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.

Teachers9.5full-time equivalent, 14 people
Pupils per teacher22.8Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants6.4full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£51,790
Teachers who left in the year25%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.32024/25

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£6,009England £7,128. Total £1.3m
Income per pupil£6,479England £7,587. Total £1.4m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,175England £3,405
Money in reserve6%Not much put by: £76k, £360 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£99kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,009spent 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 m1712 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate28 per 1,000 people70% lower than the England average
Typical house price£550,000Waverley
Nearest bus stop90 mThe Drive, 14 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
Busbridge CofE Aided Junior SchoolChurch of England240 m240Good 202494Compare
Busbridge Infant SchoolAcademy340 m172No overall grade 2025100Compare
Moss Lane SchoolFoundation0.7 miles155Not inspectedCompare
Godalming Junior SchoolFoundation0.9 miles240Good 202273Compare
St Mark and All Saints Church of England PrimaryAcademy1.3 miles209Good 20238Compare
Farncombe Church of England Infant SchoolAcademy1.4 miles105Good 2022Compare
Milford SchoolFoundation1.9 miles116Good 202433Compare
Loseley Fields Primary SchoolAcademy2.0 miles402Good 202256Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares St Edmund's Catholic Primary School 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.

Beats72%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 92 is 7 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 85 · highest 100100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 46 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than St Edmund's Catholic 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
St Francis Catholic Primary School, South AscotAcademy15.5 miles210Outstanding 202499Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 92 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 92% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 82 to 97. 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
+0.26
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 29 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 2.6 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.19
DfE progress measure; 29 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%above
+0.09
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.09
2024/25; 188 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%above
+0.10
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 29 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 St Edmund's Catholic Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. St Edmund's Catholic Primary School scores 92 out of 100. That is well 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 82 to 97, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been getting better over the last five years.

What is St Edmund's Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated St Edmund's Catholic Primary School good at its last full inspection on 21 February 2024.

How good are St Edmund's Catholic Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 83% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 21% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does St Edmund's Catholic Primary School have?

216 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 216 places, so it is 100% full.

Is St Edmund's Catholic Primary School oversubscribed, and how far away can you live?

Yes. For September 2026 the last place went to a child living 3.5 miles 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 St Edmund's Catholic Primary School?

Pupils were in school 96.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 7% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
The Drive, Godalming, GU7 1PF
Telephone
01483 414497
Website
www.stedmundsschool.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Elizabeth Higgins
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic, Diocese of Arundel and Brighton
Multi-academy trust
Xavier Catholic Education Trust (23 schools)
Local authority
Surrey
Ward
Godalming Holloway
Constituency
Godalming and Ash
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 April 2021 (academy converter)
URN
148510 · LAESTAB 9363462 · UKPRN 10088085
Formerly
St Edmund's Catholic Primary School

Where these figures come from