SCHOOL PROFILE

St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Banbury

Primary Academy converter URN 144872
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 210 Published school capacity
Capacity used 107.6% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

2 March 2022
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Church of England
Local authority Oxfordshire
Trust OXFORD DIOCESAN SCHOOLS TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 226 215 full-time · 11 part-time
Female pupils 112 49.6% of pupils
Male pupils 114 50.4% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

32.7%
7.9 pts above England
School 32.7%
Cherwell 15.9%
South East 19.0%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

69.9%
49.6 pts above England
School 69.9%
Cherwell 20.0%
South East 15.6%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Cherwell 0.9%
South East 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

Any other White background
31.9%
72
White British
20.8%
47
Pakistani
12.4%
28
African
10.2%
23
Any other ethnic group
8.8%
20
Indian
8.8%
20
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 38.1% 86 of 226 pupils
17.2 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 38.1%
Cherwell 24.7%
South East 21.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 36.3% 82 pupils
England 14.8% 21.5 pts above
EHC plans 1.8% 4 pupils
England 6.0% 4.3 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Moderate learning difficulty 24
Social, emotional & mental health 21
No specialist assessment yet 18
Speech, language & communication 16
Autistic spectrum disorder 3
Hearing impairment 1

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

47.0% 13.4 pts below England
School 47.0%
Cherwell 61.2%
South East 60.1%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

57.0%

16.8 pts below England

School 57.0%
Cherwell 74.7%
South East 74.0%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

57.0%

13.3 pts below England

School 57.0%
Cherwell 72.3%
South East 70.5%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

63.0%

9.0 pts below England

School 63.0%
Cherwell 72.0%
South East 70.9%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

6.99%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.78 pts higher than England
School 6.99%
Cherwell 6.02%
South East 6.30%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

20.30%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

4.49 pts higher than England
School 20.30%
Cherwell 14.72%
South East 15.75%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

2.03%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.23 pts higher than England
School 2.03%
Cherwell 1.81%
South East 1.93%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

107.6% 19.4 pts above England
St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Banbury
107.6%
Cherwell
84.6%
South East
89.5%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information