School Chooser

St Lawrence Church of England Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedChurch of England123 pupilsNurseryBedford
School Chooser Score
31
Below
similar schools
Likely range 14 to 58, so it could be “in line”
Out of 100. Better than 44% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedAs expected teachingOfsted report card, April 2026
Reached the expected level at 1168%England 63%
Attendance93.5%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families25%About the same as most schools in England
Places57 spare123 pupils, 180 places
Pupils per teacher19.5School workforce census

St Lawrence Church of England Primary School is a Church of England school (voluntary aided) in Rushden for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 123 pupils and room for 180. About 25 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. We give it 31 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 44% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in April 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.

Manor Lane, Wymington, Rushden, NN10 9LL01933 353530st-lawrenceschool.co.ukMrs Sarah Bush headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted visited on 28 April 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.

TeachingOfsted calls this “curriculum and teaching”
As expected
Achievement
As expected
Behaviour and attendanceOfsted calls this “attendance and behaviour”
As expected
Support for every childOfsted calls this “inclusion”
As expected
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development and wellbeing”
Strong
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and governance”
As expected
Early years
As expected
SafeguardingAre pupils kept safe?
Pupils are kept safe
Met
Ofsted's scale:ExceptionalStrong standardExpected standardNeeds attentionUrgent improvement

Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.

Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
1 December 2021Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1Good

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

19 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 1168%
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 score105.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score107.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2019 to 2025
2019: 58%58%20192023: 59%59%20232024: 62%62%20242025: 68%68%2025
Since 2019: +10%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure2025202420232019BedfordEngland
Pupils tested19292224
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths68%62%59%58%56%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%5%4%3%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score105.0103.0105.0106.0104.7105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score107.0106.0105.0105.0103.2104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score107.0105.0107.0108.0104.0105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard79%72%73%75%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard89%79%77%79%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)74%72%64%75%
Reading progressReading progress score-0.7+1.7
Maths progressMaths progress score+0.9-0.4
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged30%29%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged79%73%

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. 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
60%78%
Gap 18 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 places110 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
52% full

100 places were empty (48% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 21% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

Will my child get a place?

In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.

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 who applied got a place (11 offers for 30 places).

EntryPlacesApplied at allGot a placeHow far the last child livedSource
2026 Primary301111all 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 roll123Census January 2026
Places18068% full
Pupils from low-income families25%25% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English9%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support7%9 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%4 pupils with a plan
Average class size20.56 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)27%£43,400 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls61 / 62
White British pupils72%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 20.5 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 21.0 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (4), Specific learning difficulty (3), language and communications needs (3), emotional and mental health (2), Moderate learning difficulty (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll123126142149155165
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals25%27%28%26%28%22%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language9%10%12%8%8%7%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support6%7%3%8%10%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans2%1%1%3%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance93.5%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school19.0%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils6.42024/25, 1 permanent exclusion
Missed without permission1.0%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence6.5%5.9%5.6%5.7%2.4%4.5%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence5.4%4.9%4.6%4.9%1.9%2.5%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.0%1.0%1.0%0.8%0.4%2.0%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence19.0%18.3%15.6%12.6%2.9%6.1%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate6.44.210.13.93.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions10000

Staff and money

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

Teachers6.3full-time equivalent, 7 people
Pupils per teacher19.5Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers86%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants3.5full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£52,724
Teachers who left in the year38%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher7.32024/25

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£7,691England £7,738. Total £969k
Income per pupil£7,817England £7,697. Total £985k
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,815England £3,480
Money in reserve4%Not much put by: £42k, £329 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£16kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£7,691spent 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 m9612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate49 per 1,000 people47% lower than the England average
Typical house price£342,900Bedford
Nearest bus stop50 mChurch Lane, 6 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
South End Junior SchoolCouncil0.7 miles338Good 202371Compare
South End Infant SchoolCouncil0.9 miles195Good 202337Compare
Whitefriars Primary SchoolAcademy1.0 miles397Good 202277Compare
Rushden Primary AcademyAcademy1.0 miles388Good 202438Compare
Alfred Lord Tennyson SchoolCouncil1.5 miles147No overall grade 202415Compare
Newton Road SchoolAcademy1.5 miles196No overall grade 20252Compare
Christopher Reeves CofE VA Primary SchoolChurch of England1.5 miles70Good 202425Compare
Denfield Park Primary SchoolCouncil1.7 miles444Good 202334Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares St Lawrence Church of England Primary School with the 45 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 45 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats44%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 31 is about the same as the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 0 · middle 33 · highest 97100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 31 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 31% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 14 to 58. 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 atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%in line
-0.05
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 19 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%below
-0.08
Ofsted report card, 0.4 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
-0.02
DfE progress measure; 19 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
-0.02
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.07
2024/25; 100 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%in line
+0.01
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 19 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 Lawrence Church of England Primary School a good school?

The figures are weak. St Lawrence Church of England Primary School scores 31 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 44% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 14 to 58, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

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

Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 28 April 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as as expected, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as as expected.

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

In summer 2025, 68% 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. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does St Lawrence Church of England Primary School have?

123 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 180 places, so it is 68% full.

Is St Lawrence Church of England Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 100 places were empty in 2024/25 (48% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at St Lawrence Church of England Primary School?

Pupils were in school 93.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 19% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

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

The average class had 20.5 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
Manor Lane, Wymington, Rushden, NN10 9LL
Telephone
01933 353530
Website
www.st-lawrenceschool.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Sarah Bush
Type of school
Church of England school (voluntary aided) (Voluntary aided school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England, Diocese of St Albans
Local authority
Bedford
Ward
Harrold
Constituency
North Bedfordshire
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
109628 · LAESTAB 8223334 · UKPRN 10075929

Where these figures come from