Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school · Mixed · Essex
Birchwood, Bishop's Stortford, CM23 5QL
29
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
School remains Good
No graded inspection
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
95.7%
6.6% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
93
Capacity used
Has space79%
117 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Primary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
8 of 8 families who put it first got an offer
9
Places offered
23
Total applications
2.6
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 8 | 8 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 4 | 0 | ● 0% |
| 3rd preference | 7 | 0 | ● 0% |
| 4th preference | 4 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 23 | 8 | 35% |
1st preference success by year
Essex lets families list 4 preferences. 5 applications came from outside the council area (3 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Phase
- Primary
- Age range
- 4–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Sharon Vessey
- Address
- Birchwood, Birchanger, Bishop's Stortford, CM23 5QL
- Phone
- 01279812362
- Local authority
- Essex
- Ward / constituency
- Stansted South & Birchanger · North West Essex
- Area
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 115127
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 11% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 18% | — | — |
| SEN support | 10% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 1 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
93 pupils · 117 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 26
28 April 2026
S5 Inspection · report card
Inclusion Expected standard Achievement Expected standard Safeguarding standards Met Curriculum and teaching Expected standard Attendance and behaviour Expected standard Leadership and governance Expected standard Early years Expected standard Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard Post-16 provision Not applicable - 22
05 May 2022
Ungraded inspection
School remains Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 91 pupils
Attendance
95.7%
Share of sessions attended · England 94.5%
Overall absence
4.3%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 5.5%
Persistent absence
6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 14.6%
Severe absence
1.1%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
1.0%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
Primary results (Key Stage 2)
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expected standard in reading, writing & maths | 29% | — | — |
| Higher standard | 0% | — | — |
| Reading progress | — | — | 0.0 |
| Writing progress | — | — | 0.0 |
| Maths progress | — | — | 0.0 |
Primary results by subject (SATs)
Year 6 pupils meeting each standard, against England
Reading, writing & maths combined
Reading
Writing
Maths
Grammar, punctuation & spelling
Science
England average · Scaled scores run 80–120 (100 = expected standard).
Primary results over time
Expected standard (RWM) by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Expected standard (RWM) | 64% | 61% |
| Higher standard | 0% | 8% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Essex council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Reception (primary) | 15 January | 16 April (or next working day) |
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.