Primary school in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk
Thurston Church of England Primary Academy
Pond Field Road, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, IP31 3FT
Ofsted
Inspected under the current framework, which gives no overall grade, on 12 November 2024.
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 in the lower half of state-funded primaries in England.
Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is middle, 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
- 349
- Places
- 420
- How full
- 83% full — 349 of 420 places taken
- Girls / boys
- 166 / 183
- Overall absence
- 6%
- Persistently absent
- 11%
primary schools average 5.2%
primary schools average 12.8% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions
- Free school meals, last 6 years
- 20%
- English as an additional language
- 4%
- With an EHC plan
- 2%
- On SEN support
- 22%
England 25.7%
England 18.7%
England 3.5%
England 15%
The neighbourhood around the school
Census 2021 figures for Mid Suffolk 004D, 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
- 14%
- Households owning their home
- 88%
- Households in social housing
- 2%
- Households with no car
- 5%
- Adults economically inactive
- 41%
England 33.8%
England 18.3%
England 62.7%
England 17%
England 21.9%
England 39.9%
School details
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- Ages 5–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No
- Boarding
- Day school
- Trust
- THEDWASTRE EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Headteacher: John Bayes
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Ward
- Thurston
- Constituency
- Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket
- URN
- 142562
The unique reference number used in all official school data.
Nearest primary schools
| School | Ofsted | Expected standard | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norton CEVC Primary SchoolVoluntary controlled school | No grade | 83% | 0.1 mi |
| Elmswell Community Primary SchoolCommunity school | No grade | 76% | 2.5 mi |
| Woolpit Primary AcademyAcademy converter | Good 2022 | 29% | 2.6 mi |
| Ixworth Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy sponsor led | Good 2022 | 40% | 3.3 mi |
| Rougham Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy sponsor led | Good 2024 | 64% | 3.5 mi |
| Great Barton Church of England Primary AcademyAcademy converter | Good 2023 | 67% | 4.3 mi |
| Rattlesden Church of England Primary AcademyAcademy converter | Good 2024 | 75% | 4.4 mi |
| Stanton Primary SchoolAcademy converter | Good 2024 | — | 4.7 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Eleanor Palmer Primary SchoolCommunity school | Outstanding 2023 | 93% |
| Hotham Primary SchoolCommunity school | No grade | 78% |
| Grafton Primary SchoolCommunity school | No grade | 56% |
| Preston Park Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2024 | 57% |
| Horsenden Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2023 | 69% |
| Hazelwood Junior SchoolCommunity school | No grade | 71% |
| St Michael's CofE Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | Good 2022 | 83% |
| Roxbourne Primary SchoolCommunity school | No grade | 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.