School Chooser

St Luke's Church of England Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedChurch of England191 pupilsLymingtonHampshire
School Chooser Score
97
Well above
similar schools
Likely range 92 to 99
Out of 100. Better than 98% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedOutstandingLast Ofsted inspection, January 2023
Reached the expected level at 1182%England 63%
Attendance96.6%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families12%Far fewer than most schools
Places27 spare191 pupils, 218 places
Pupils per teacher21.2School workforce census

St Luke's Church of England Primary School is a Church of England school (voluntary controlled) in Lymington for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 191 pupils and room for 218. About 12 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 97 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 98% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2023.

West Beams Road, Sway, Lymington, SO41 6AE01590 682431st-lukes.hants.sch.ukRachel Goplen headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 24 January 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Outstanding overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Outstanding
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Outstanding
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Outstanding
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Outstanding
Early years
Outstanding
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1182%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level14%
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: 70%70%20172018: 73%73%20182019: 78%78%20192023: 77%77%20232024: 81%81%20242025: 82%82%2025
Since 2017: +12%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017HampshireEngland
Pupils tested283230273027
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths82%81%77%78%73%70%64%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths14%28%27%19%20%22%9%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score109.0108.0108.0106.0108.0106.0105.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score108.0108.0108.0107.0107.0107.0104.3104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score111.0109.0108.0109.0108.0108.0104.8105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard93%91%83%78%90%74%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard86%91%87%93%87%93%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)86%88%87%85%87%89%
Reading progressReading progress score+2.2+0.2+1.4+0.7
Maths progressMaths progress score+3.8+0.9+1.1+1.9
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged43%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged83%

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
88%73%
Gap 15 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.

A few spare places185 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
88% full

About 25 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have fallen by 6% 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 (24 offers for 30 places).

EntryPlacesApplied at allGot a placeHow far the last child livedSource
2026 Primary305224all offeredLA
2025 Primary305026all offeredLA
2024 Primary304524all offeredLA
2023 Primary303615all offeredLA
2022 Primary304221all 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 roll191Census January 2026
Places21888% full
Pupils from low-income families12%12% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English3%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support15%29 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%5 pupils with a plan
Average class size26.76 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils33%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)12%£35,650 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls103 / 88
White British pupils93%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 22.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 31.3 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Specific learning difficulty (24), language and communications needs (4), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (2), Hearing impairment (1), Physical disability (1), emotional and mental health (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll191187191194201201
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals12%13%14%14%13%9%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language3%3%2%3%2%2%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support18%18%20%11%10%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans1%2%1%0%0%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.6%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school3.0%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.52024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.6%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence3.4%4.1%4.3%5.8%2.3%3.3%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence2.8%3.1%3.5%5.2%1.6%2.8%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.6%1.0%0.8%0.6%0.7%0.5%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence3.0%6.6%8.7%13.9%3.4%5.0%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.50.50.00.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers9.0full-time equivalent, 10 people
Pupils per teacher21.2Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants4.2full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£53,021
Teachers who left in the year10%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher1.42024/25

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£6,532England £7,738. Total £1.2m
Income per pupil£6,781England £7,697. Total £1.3m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,303England £3,480
Money in reserve16%A healthy amount put by: £204k, £1,089 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£47kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,532spent 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 m4712 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate38 per 1,000 people58% lower than the England average
Typical house price£382,750New Forest
Nearest bus stop120 mWestbeams Road, 12 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
Tiptoe Primary SchoolCouncil1.5 miles123Good 202266Compare
Hordle CofE (VA) Primary SchoolChurch of England2.1 miles382Outstanding 202292Compare
Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Primary School - the Learning Federation Partnership of SchoolsRoman Catholic2.3 miles104Outstanding 202296Compare
Ashley Infant SchoolCouncil2.4 miles149Not inspectedCompare
Brockenhurst Church of England Primary School & Pre-SchoolChurch of England2.5 miles231Good 202379Compare
Ashley Junior SchoolFoundation2.6 miles230Good 202324Compare
William Gilpin Church of England Primary SchoolChurch of England2.9 miles74Report card 20262Compare
Lymington Junior SchoolCouncil2.9 miles250Good 202377Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares St Luke's Church of England Primary School with the 50 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 50 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats98%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the very top of its group. Its score of 97 is 36 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 6 · middle 61 · highest 99100

No school with a similar mix of pupils within 25 km scores clearly higher.

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 97 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 97% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 92 to 99. 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
+0.20
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 28 pupils
Ofsted inspection19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)well above
+0.40
Ofsted grade, 3.6 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.18
DfE progress measure; 28 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
-0.02
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well above
+0.13
2024/25; 169 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well above
+0.17
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 28 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 Luke's Church of England Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. St Luke's Church of England Primary School scores 97 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 98% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 92 to 99, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

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

Ofsted rated St Luke's Church of England Primary School outstanding at its last full inspection on 24 January 2023.

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

In summer 2025, 82% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 14% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does St Luke's Church of England Primary School have?

191 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 218 places, so it is 88% full.

Is St Luke's Church of England Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 25 places were empty in 2024/25 (12% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at St Luke's Church of England Primary School?

Pupils were in school 96.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 3% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at St Luke's Church of England Primary School?

The average class had 26.7 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 33% 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
West Beams Road, Sway, Lymington, SO41 6AE
Telephone
01590 682431
Website
www.st-lukes.hants.sch.uk
Headteacher
Rachel Goplen
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 Winchester
Local authority
Hampshire
Ward
Sway
Constituency
New Forest East
Setting
Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
URN
116318 · LAESTAB 8503149 · UKPRN 10071561

Where these figures come from