Bury St Edmunds’s state schools trail 67% of towns in England on results
57% of Bury St Edmunds’s primary pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, below both Suffolk’s towns (61%) and towns in England (62%). 19 state-funded schools are located in Bury St Edmunds’s built-up area. Bury St Edmunds grades C for schools, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results: #19 of 34 in Suffolk. Ofsted is shown, not graded.
Town figures are pupil-weighted across the schools the grade uses; England’s are the average school.
School Grade
Bury St Edmunds grades C for schools
Against every town in England with results; Wales publishes none.
Primary: reading, writing and maths at 11 (57% meet the standard)Better than 27% of towns in England
Secondary: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (45.7 and 43%)Better than 46% of towns in England
Each of Bury St Edmunds’s 8 primaries: % meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (2023–25)
Each of Bury St Edmunds’s 3 secondaries: Attainment 8 (2025/26)
England’s average schoolSuffolk’s average school
The primary figure: 10 primaries in the town, 1,155 pupils in results over three years. The secondary figure: 3 secondaries in the town, 577 pupils in results. Mainstream state schools only (grammar schools included); special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19 colleges are listed below but not graded. Each school’s results are compared with every school in England, then weighted by its pupils.
Map
Where Bury St Edmunds’s 19 state schools are
Each school at its address, coloured by its own letter and sized by pupils. Open a school for its own page. The dashed shape is Bury St Edmunds’s built-up area.
PrimarySecondary (named)Special, nursery, 16–19Size: pupilsABCDNo letter
Most schools give places by distance once siblings are in, so the schools nearest a home matter more than any league table. The 3 secondaries are named.
Results and intake
Which schools do better than their intake suggests
Schools with more pupils on free school meals tend to get lower results. The dashed line is the typical school in England for each level of free school meals; the band holds the middle two-thirds. A dot above the band is doing better than schools like it.
Primaries: KS2 reading, writing and maths against free school meals
Secondaries: Attainment 8 against free school meals
The share of pupils on free school meals runs from 12% at Sebert Wood Community Primary School to 42% at Howard Community Academy. Against schools with the same intake, Abbots Green Primary Academy does best: 79% with 13% on free school meals, where a typical school would reach 65%. 2 of 7 primaries and 0 of 3 secondaries are above the line.
Free school meals: pupils eligible now, DfE January 2026 census. The typical-school line is a straight-line fit across every graded school in England. It describes; it doesn’t grade: the School Grade uses results alone.
Getting a place
How school places work in Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk County Council handles applications for every state school in Bury St Edmunds, academies included. You apply to the council where you live, even for a school in another area.
Secondary (starting at 11)Apply by 31 October of Year 6. Offers on 1 March.
Primary (starting in Reception)Apply by 15 January before the September your child starts. Offers on 16 April.
Moving mid-yearApply to the council for an in-year place; it tells you which schools have room.
When a school is full
Every school publishes its admissions rules. Children in care come first, then, at most schools, brothers and sisters of current pupils, then those who live nearest. 4 of Bury St Edmunds’s 13 mainstream schools have a religious character; some of them give priority by church attendance, so check each school’s rules. Infant classes are limited to 30 by law. If you’re refused a place, you can appeal to an independent panel.
Pupils on roll as a share of the school’s official capacity. The black tick is 100%; 2 schools are at or over it.
Abbots Green incl. nursery145%
St Benedict's114%
King Edward VI CEVC99%
Tollgate incl. nursery95%
Sebert Wood incl. nursery89%
Westgate80%
Sexton's Manor incl. nursery79%
Guildhall Feoffment78%
Hardwick75%
Howard Community incl. nursery67%
Show all 12 schools
Bury St Edmunds County High64%
St Edmundsbury53%
DfE register of schools (GIAS), January 2026 census. Capacity often excludes a nursery class, so a school with a nursery can show over 100%.
The schools
19 state schools in Bury St Edmunds
Each school’s own letter compares its results with every state school in England of the same phase: Key Stage 2 for primaries, GCSEs for secondaries. Open a school for its results, how its letter is worked out, Ofsted and a map.
Letters of Bury St Edmunds’s schoolsA2B3C3D56 without a letter
Key result: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (GCSEs, 2025/26 provisional) for secondaries; the share meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (KS2, DfE’s three-year average) for primaries. Pupils: the January 2026 school census. No letter: an infant or first school (no KS2 tests), a new school, a small cohort DfE suppresses, or a special school, nursery or college. Independent schools aren’t included.
Ofsted
Ofsted report cards
Each school’s latest inspection; report cards replace one-word judgements as schools are re-inspected.
Good 5Report card 2Requires improvement 1Inadequate 1Ungraded inspection only 8No published grade 2
Ofsted stopped giving one-word judgements in 2024. Until a school is re-inspected, its last overall judgement is its most recent single grade; a school judged years ago may have changed a lot since.
Since November 2025 Ofsted gives each area of a school one of five grades (exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention, urgent improvement) and says whether safeguarding is met, instead of one overall word. 2 of Bury St Edmunds’s 19 state schools have a report card so far; the others show their last inspection under the old framework. Ofsted is never part of the School Grade.
Academies are state schools run by a trust rather than the council: the trust employs the staff and can set its own curriculum and term dates. Admissions still go through the council.
Run by
Schools
Pupils
Their letters
Unity Schools PartnershipBury St Edmunds County High, Abbots Green, Tollgate, Sir Peter Hall
4
1,758
B−AB+
Eastern Education Group TrustAbbeygate Sixth Form College, Priory
2
1,404
—
Our Lady of Walsingham Catholic Multi Academy TrustSt Benedict's, St Edmund's
2
968
B+C
All Saints Schools TrustHardwick, Sexton's Manor
2
355
DD
Raedwald TrustFirst Base Bury St Edmunds, The Albany
2
0
—
Consortium TrustRiverwalk
1
217
—
Anglian LearningHoward Community
1
210
D−
Elveden Schools TrustSt Edmundsbury
1
168
D−
Suffolk County CouncilKing Edward VI CEVC, Sebert Wood, Guildhall Feoffment, Westgate
4
2,192
CC+A−D
After 16
Where Bury St Edmunds’s teenagers go at 16
In England young people stay in education or training until 18: a sixth form, a college, or an apprenticeship.
1 of Bury St Edmunds’s 3 state secondaries has a sixth form: St Benedict's. Abbeygate Sixth Form College is a state 16–19 school in the large town. West Suffolk College, a further-education college, is in the large town.
Secondaries with a sixth form
1 of 3
state schools in Bury St Edmunds
Colleges within 12 miles
1
nearest: West Suffolk College
Grammar schools in Suffolk
0
no selective state secondaries
Special needs
Special schools and alternative provision in Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds has 3 special schools (Priory, Riverwalk and Sir Peter Hall: 514 pupils) and 2 alternative provision schools, for pupils who can’t attend mainstream school for a time. A special-school place isn’t applied for like a mainstream one: for a child with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), Suffolk County Council names the school in the plan, after asking the family’s preference. These schools have no letter, because their results don’t compare with mainstream schools’. Their cards ↑
Suffolk County Council’s SEND Local Offer lists support beyond these schools.
Towns its size
114th of 161 English towns of 29,000 to 56,000
Ranked by School Grade, best first: the towns either side of Bury St Edmunds, and the top and bottom of the group.
Great BartonThurstonBarrowIxworthWoolpitElmswellStantonBury St Edmunds
Town
Schools
KS2
Att. 8
Bury St Edmunds 19 schools
C
57%
45.7
Great Barton 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 2.9 mi
A−
69%
48.1
Thurston 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 4.1 mi
B+
65%
48.1
Barrow 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 5.5 mi
B
63%
—
Ixworth 2 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 6.2 mi
D−
42%
39.7
Woolpit 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 7.8 mi
B+
64%
—
Elmswell 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 8.6 mi
B−
62%
—
Stanton 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 8.9 mi
C−
57%
—
Great Barton has the best-graded schools nearby (A−). Small places often use the schools within 3 km, so neighbours can share schools.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
•
Expected standard at Key Stage 2. The share of 11-year-olds who reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths together, in tests and teacher assessment at the end of primary school. We use DfE’s three-year average (2023–2025) to steady small schools.
•
Higher standard. The share working at greater depth in all three. In Bury St Edmunds: 7% (England’s average school: 8%).
•
Attainment 8. A pupil’s GCSE grades across eight subjects, with English and maths counted twice, added up. 50 is roughly a grade 5 in every subject.
•
Grade 5+ in English and maths. A strong pass in both. Grade 4 is a standard pass.
•
Provisional. 2025/26 GCSE figures are DfE’s first release; revised figures follow in February, usually within a point.
•
Progress 8. Not shown: there is none for 2025/26, because these pupils sat no KS2 tests in 2020 (Covid).
•
Free school meals. Pupils eligible for free school meals now, from the January census: the usual measure of how many pupils come from low-income homes.
•
Independent schools. Not included: they publish no results comparable with state schools’.
Questions about schools in Bury St Edmunds
Are schools in Bury St Edmunds good?
Bury St Edmunds’s state schools earn a C against schools across England: primary results beat 27% of towns in England; secondary results beat 46% of towns in England, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results. School places are handled by Suffolk council.
What is the best secondary school in Bury St Edmunds?
On 2025/26 GCSE results, St Benedict's Catholic School: Attainment 8 of 51.9 and 50% with grade 5+ in English and maths, against 47.3 at the average school in England. Results are one measure; distance decides most places.
What is the best primary school in Bury St Edmunds?
On Key Stage 2 results over 2023–25, Abbots Green Primary Academy: 79% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England.
Do Bury St Edmunds secondary schools have sixth forms?
1 of 3 do.
How do I apply for a school place in Bury St Edmunds?
Through Suffolk County Council, for every state school including academies. Secondary applications close on 31 October (offers 1 March); primary on 15 January (offers 16 April).
How many schools in Bury St Edmunds are full?
2 of 12 mainstream schools have at least as many pupils as places, on DfE’s January 2026 census. A full school still admits by its rules, usually distance after siblings.
How many state schools are in Bury St Edmunds?
19 open state-funded schools are located in Bury St Edmunds’s built-up area: 10 primary, 3 secondary and 6 other (special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19). Independent schools aren’t included.
Sources: DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), Key Stage 2 performance tables (2023–2025, three-year average) and Key Stage 4 (2025/26, provisional); Ofsted state-funded school inspections as at 30 September 2026 · DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), further-education and sixth-form colleges · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
