SCHOOL PROFILE

Thurston Church of England Primary Academy

Primary Academy converter URN 142562
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 420 Published school capacity
Capacity used 83.1% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 5 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

12 November 2024
Latest published outcome Not judged
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 Suffolk
Trust THE TILIAN PARTNERSHIP
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 349 349 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 166 47.6% of pupils
Male pupils 183 52.4% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

20.3%
4.5 pts below England
School 20.3%
Mid Suffolk 16.9%
East of England 19.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

3.4%
16.9 pts below England
School 3.4%
Mid Suffolk 3.4%
East of England 16.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.3%
0.7 pts below England
School 0.3%
Mid Suffolk 2.0%
East of England 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
89.7%
313
Any other White background
4.0%
14
Any other Mixed background
1.7%
6
Unclassified
1.7%
6
African
0.9%
3
Any other ethnic group
0.6%
2
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 23.2% 81 of 349 pupils
2.4 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 23.2%
Mid Suffolk 17.8%
East of England 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 18.9% 66 pupils
England 14.8% 4.1 pts above
EHC plans 4.3% 15 pupils
England 6.0% 1.7 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 25
Social, emotional & mental health 17
Autistic spectrum disorder 12
Specific learning difficulty 11
No specialist assessment yet 8
Moderate learning difficulty 3

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

59.0% 1.4 pts below England
School 59.0%
Mid Suffolk 62.1%
East of England 58.3%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

78.0%

4.2 pts above England

School 78.0%
Mid Suffolk 79.9%
East of England 72.9%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

83.0%

12.7 pts above England

School 83.0%
Mid Suffolk 71.7%
East of England 68.0%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

75.0%

3.0 pts above England

School 75.0%
Mid Suffolk 74.6%
East of England 70.3%
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

5.57%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.65 pts lower than England
School 5.57%
Mid Suffolk 5.48%
East of England 6.17%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

11.30%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

4.52 pts lower than England
School 11.30%
Mid Suffolk 12.80%
East of England 15.39%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.33%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.47 pts lower than England
School 0.33%
Mid Suffolk 1.19%
East of England 1.83%
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

83.1% 5.1 pts below England
Thurston Church of England Primary Academy
83.1%
Mid Suffolk
82.9%
East of England
87.4%
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