Woodhouse Eaves St Paul's Church of England Primary School Review 2026: High-performing village primary with a clear faith-led identity

One-class-per-year makes this a genuinely small primary, with no mixed-age classes and a strong sense of everyone knowing everyone. The academic picture is unusually strong for a state village school, with 2024 Key Stage 2 outcomes well above England averages and a local ranking that places it at the top of the Loughborough area in the FindMySchool dataset.

The school’s Church of England character is central rather than decorative. Christian values and collective worship are embedded in routines and language, and the latest faith inspection describes a coherent vision that shapes leadership decisions and pupils’ sense of responsibility.

Governance and status have recently changed. The school converted to academy status, opening as an academy converter on 01 April 2024, while continuing on the same site and serving the same community.

This is a school that leans into being small. With one class per year group, routines can be consistent, relationships are stable, and pupils tend to be known as individuals rather than managed as cohorts. That structure can be reassuring for children who like predictability and clear expectations, and it also means responsibilities and leadership roles are visible, because there are fewer layers to hide in.

The tone is values-led and outward-looking. In the latest Anglican schools inspection, pupils are described as taking responsibility seriously, including challenging leaders on practical issues and pushing for changes around waste and plastics. It is a useful insight for parents because it indicates that pupil voice is not just a slogan, it has outcomes.

Faith is present in everyday life, but the messaging is also inclusive. The admissions policy explicitly frames the school as welcoming to families of all faiths and none, while preserving and developing its Church of England character. For many families, that balance is exactly the draw, a clear moral framework without a sense of exclusivity.

Leadership is clear and visible. The school lists Mrs L. Gilchrist as Headteacher, and she is also named in official school records as the current head. Local community publications indicate she became headteacher in 2019, suggesting a period of settled leadership through the post-pandemic years and into academy conversion.

For a state primary, the 2024 outcomes are the headline. At Key Stage 2, 83% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics combined, compared with an England average of 62%. That difference is large enough to matter for most families, particularly those thinking ahead to secondary readiness and confidence with core literacy and numeracy.

The higher standard figure is equally striking. In 2024, 45% achieved the higher standard in reading, writing and mathematics, compared with an England average of 8%. This suggests the school is not only getting most pupils over the expected bar, it is also pushing a substantial proportion into deeper attainment.

Subject-level indicators support the same picture. In 2024, 88% met the expected standard in reading, 81% in maths, and 92% in science.

Rankings in the FindMySchool dataset reinforce that this is not a one-off impression created by a single percentage. Woodhouse Eaves St Paul's Church of England Primary School is ranked 657th in England and 1st in the Loughborough local area for primary outcomes, a proprietary FindMySchool ranking based on official data. That position places it well above England average, within the top 10% of primary schools in England.

A final, practical interpretation for parents: these outcomes tend to correlate with calm classrooms, consistent routines, and a curriculum that builds knowledge in a deliberate sequence. Results do not prove that, but they often align, and the inspection evidence here points in the same direction.

The curriculum is structured carefully, with knowledge broken into small steps so that learning builds over time. In practice, that means concepts are introduced early and revisited with increasing sophistication. The inspection report gives concrete examples, such as early years pupils learning the idea of “old” through stories, then building to more complex historical understanding by Year 6.

Reading is positioned as a foundation subject rather than a bolt-on intervention. The school’s approach starts early, with phonics taught by trained staff and reading books matched to the sounds pupils are learning. The implication for families is simple: if early reading is secure, pupils usually access the rest of the curriculum with more confidence, and gaps are less likely to widen in later primary years.

Support for pupils with additional needs is described as integrated rather than separate. The school aims for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities to access the same curriculum with adaptations, and the SEND transition process includes planned meetings with secondary SENDCOs and Year 6 staff to support continuity.

As a Leicestershire primary, transfer to Year 7 is typically coordinated through the local authority, with families choosing and ranking preferences. While the school does not publicly publish a “most common destinations” list in the sources reviewed, there are a few grounded inferences parents can rely on without over-reading: most pupils will move on to secondary schools serving the Charnwood and Loughborough area, and transition planning begins well before the summer term ends, particularly for pupils with SEND.

The culture described in the inspection, particularly around reading, responsibility, and pupil voice, tends to help pupils adapt well to the bigger systems of secondary school. A child used to clear routines, consistent expectations, and purposeful learning usually finds the move to multiple teachers and subjects less disruptive.

Parents comparing options can use the FindMySchool Local Hub and Comparison Tool to look at nearby secondaries side-by-side, then sanity-check travel time and logistics alongside academic fit.

Demand is a defining feature. For the 2024 entry route there were 118 applications for 30 offers, which works out at about 3.93 applications per place. That level of oversubscription means families should approach admission strategically and avoid relying on this as a “backup” option if they live outside the catchment.

The school’s determined admissions arrangements for 2026 to 2027 confirm a Published Admission Number (PAN) of 30 for Reception entry. Applications are made via the local authority’s coordinated admissions process, with the national closing date of 15 January 2026 for September 2026 starters. Offers are released on the national offer day, which Leicestershire states as 16 April (or the next working day).

Oversubscription priorities are clear. After children with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, priority is given to looked-after and previously looked-after children, then exceptional medical or social need, then siblings, then children living in the designated catchment, then other applicants ranked by distance using the local authority mapping tool.

For families outside catchment, it is worth taking the “usually have several places for out-of-catchment families” statement in its proper context. It may be true in some years for some year groups, but the reception admissions ratio suggests that, at least recently, competition has been high.

Pastoral care here is closely tied to the school’s values framework. Christian values are not only referenced in policies, they show up in routines, worship, and how pupils talk about responsibility, respect, and difference.

Safeguarding is described as effective in the most recent graded inspection.

For pupils who need extra help to settle or regulate, the small-school structure can be a protective factor. It is easier for staff to notice changes in behaviour, attendance patterns, or friendships when year groups are small and adults know families well. SEND transition work, including planned liaison with secondary settings, is another practical sign that support is planned rather than reactive.

Trips and experiences are used as curriculum extensions, not just treats. In Year 4, pupils have a residential experience, and by Year 6 the curriculum includes a London visit with a link to the school’s namesake, St Paul’s Cathedral. For children, these moments often become the “memory anchors” of primary school, and for parents they are a good signal that learning is made concrete through experience.

Clubs and leadership opportunities add a second layer. The faith inspection references the popularity of the Jesus and Me club, and also notes that teams are active in local sporting events. There are also multiple pupil leadership groups, described as promoting responsibility and encouraging pupils to act as agents for change.

Wraparound provision is unusually well-defined for a small primary, which matters for working families. Breakfast Club operates 07:45am to 09:00am, and the school’s after-school care (Planet Play) runs to 05:30pm on Monday to Thursday, with collection options earlier in the afternoon. Published pricing indicates £5.50 per Breakfast Club session and £11.00 for the later Planet Play session, with alternative options for earlier collection.

Start and finish times vary by phase. Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 start at 08:50am and finish at 03:20pm, while Years 3 to 6 start at 09:00am and finish at 03:30pm.

Wraparound care is available via Breakfast Club and Planet Play, with published timings and booking expectations that help families plan reliably across the week.

For transport, most families will treat this as a village school with a mix of walking and driving at drop-off. Public transport links exist, with bus stops in Woodhouse Eaves served by local routes, and Loughborough as the nearest major rail hub for wider travel.

• Competition for Reception places. With 118 applications for 30 offers year, the limiting factor for many families is admission rather than the quality of education. Have a realistic Plan B early.

• Catchment matters. The admissions policy makes catchment a priority category ahead of distance-only allocation for out-of-area families. If you are outside the designated area, do not assume that living “near enough” will be sufficient in an oversubscribed year.

• Faith is integral. Collective worship and Christian language are prominent, and the school’s vision is explicitly theological in framing. Families who prefer a more secular tone should weigh that carefully, even if they value the school’s academic results.

• Small school dynamics. One-form entry can be a strength, but friendship groups and peer dynamics are also more concentrated. For some children this is ideal; for others, a larger cohort offers more social “room”.

Woodhouse Eaves St Paul's Church of England Primary School combines a small-school feel with results that place it well above the England average. The ethos is coherent, faith-led, and strongly tied to daily routines, with wraparound care that is unusually practical for a village primary.

It suits families who want a Church of England education with clear values, small cohorts, and high academic expectations, and who can credibly meet the admissions realities, especially catchment priority and oversubscription pressure.