Barrow Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school · Ages 4–11 · Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Last distance offered · Reception 2025
5.281 miles
Published by Suffolk County Council · offers on 16 April 2025
Barrow Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is a primary school in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk for ages 4–11 (voluntary controlled school). Its latest Ofsted outcome is Not judged, from the inspection on 24 September 2024. Suffolk has published a last distance offered for this school for Reception 2025 entry.
Barrow Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School catchment area: last distance offered
Parents often call this the catchment area: it's how far from the school the last child offered a place lived. It changes every year.
| Entry | Last distance offered |
|---|---|
| Reception 2025 | 5.281 mi |
What the pass includes · How to read it: one past year, not a catchment
What the figures show
- The last child offered a Reception place in 2025 lived 5.281 miles away, the 2nd longest of the 19 Suffolk primary schools with a published Reception 2025 last distance.
- Reception 2026 had 22 first-choice applications for 26 offers; every first-choice family was offered a place, and 4 offers went to families who ranked it lower.
- In 2024/25, 67% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (England 62%), and 10% reached the higher standard (England 8%).
Worked out by Catchmently from the published figures on this page and those for other Suffolk schools. Distances are as published; how they were measured differs between admission authorities.
Key facts
- Address
- Colethorpe Lane, Barrow, Bury St Edmunds, IP29 5AU
- Type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 4–11
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Council
- Suffolk
- Pupils on roll
- 199 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 9.5% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.4
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
Not judged Inspected 24 September 2024
Strengths
- “Pupils thrive in this inclusive, supportive school.”
- “Warm relationships with staff ensure that pupils feel safe and happy.”
- “The school’s caring environment is proudly supported by pupils, who contribute to it and offer support to one another.”
To improve
- “However, for some pupils, gaps in mathematical knowledge mean that they are not as fluent in number as they could be.”
- “The school also recognises that there is more to do to ensure that in wider curriculum subjects, such as history, pupils can explain, discuss and weigh up evidence successfully.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 16 December 2024 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Exam results
| Measure | School | England |
|---|---|---|
| Key stage 2 · reading, writing and maths, expected standard (2024/25) | 67% | 62% |
Department for Education school performance data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Reception entry: 22 first-preference applications, 26 offers in total, 22 offers to first-preference applicants.
Department for Education, school-level applications and offers, figures on national offer day. Earlier years are in the pass.
Nearby primary schools
Straight-line distance, in Suffolk.
- Risby Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School 2.7 mi Good Last distance published
- Moulton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School 4.1 mi Outstanding Last distance published
- Ickworth Park Primary School 4.3 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- Sexton's Manor Primary School 4.6 mi No Ofsted grade
- Howard Community Academy 4.9 mi Not judged
- St Edmundsbury CofE Primary Academy 5.3 mi No Ofsted grade
- Westgate Community Primary School and Nursery 5.3 mi Good
- St Christopher's CEVCP School 5.3 mi Good Last distance published