Primary school in Bishop's Stortford, Essex
Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
Birchwood, Birchanger, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, CM23 5QL
Ofsted
Inspected under the current framework, which gives no overall grade, on 28 April 2026.
Inspections since September 2024 do not give an overall grade, so there is no one-word judgement to report. The full report sets out what inspectors found.
Key stage 2 results 2024/25
Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Reached the higher standard
Average reading score
Average maths score
On the headline measure this school is around the middle of state-funded primaries in England.
Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is least disadvantaged, which is where this one sits, it is in the lower half.
There are no progress measures for primary schools any more. They were calculated from a key stage 1 baseline, and statutory key stage 1 tests ended in 2023, so nothing has been published since. That makes attainment the only official measure — and attainment tracks intake closely, which is why the comparison against similar schools above is the more useful of the two lines.
Pupils
- Pupils on roll
- 93
- Places
- 117
- How full
- 79% full — 93 of 117 places taken, so places are likely to be available
- Girls / boys
- 41 / 52
- Overall absence
- 4%
- Persistently absent
- 7%
primary schools average 5.2%
primary schools average 12.8% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions
- Free school meals, last 6 years
- 12%
- English as an additional language
- 11%
- With an EHC plan
- 2%
- On SEN support
- 3%
England 25.7%
England 18.7%
England 3.5%
England 15%
The neighbourhood around the school
Census 2021 figures for Uttlesford 005F, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.
- Adults with a degree
- 35%
- Adults with no qualifications
- 11%
- Households owning their home
- 68%
- Households in social housing
- 16%
- Households with no car
- 8%
- Adults economically inactive
- 28%
England 33.8%
England 18.3%
England 62.7%
England 17%
England 21.9%
England 39.9%
School details
- Type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- Ages 4–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No
- Boarding
- Day school
- Headteacher
- Headteacher: Sharon Vessey
- Local authority
- Essex
- Ward
- Stansted South & Birchanger
- Constituency
- North West Essex
- URN
- 115127
The unique reference number used in all official school data.
Nearest primary schools
| School | Ofsted | Expected standard | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Mary's CofE Foundation Primary SchoolFoundation school | Good 2022 | 75% | 0.8 mi |
| All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery, Bishop's StortfordVoluntary aided school | Good 2023 | 61% | 0.9 mi |
| Summercroft Primary SchoolAcademy converter | Good 2022 | 73% | 0.9 mi |
| Avanti Meadows Primary SchoolFree schools | Good 2024 | 47% | 1.3 mi |
| Magna Carta Primary AcademyFree schools | No grade | 69% | 1.3 mi |
| Thorn Grove Primary SchoolCommunity school | No grade | 60% | 1.6 mi |
| Bentfield Primary School and NurseryCommunity school | Good 2024 | 71% | 1.7 mi |
| Windhill21Academy converter | No grade | 70% | 1.9 mi |
Schools with a similar intake
State-funded primary schools nationally whose share of disadvantaged pupils is closest to this school's. This is the fairest like-for-like comparison the published data supports.
| School | Ofsted | Expected standard |
|---|---|---|
| Holy Ghost Catholic Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | Good 2024 | 86% |
| St Anselm's Catholic Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | Outstanding 2023 | 81% |
| Monken Hadley CofE Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | Outstanding 2023 | 88% |
| St Mary's Church of England Primary School, HawkshawVoluntary aided school | No grade | 64% |
| St Michael's Church of England Primary School, AlkringtonVoluntary aided school | No grade | 65% |
| Moss Hey Primary SchoolCommunity school | No grade | 81% |
| Oxspring Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2024 | 78% |
| Silkstone Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2023 | 83% |
Where these figures come from
- School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
- Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25.
- Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
- Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
- Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.
All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.