St Michael's CofE Primary School, Lyme Regis

Three mixed-age classes, a parish church that has stood on its site since AD 774, and Mary Anning's grave in the churchyard: it is an unusual setting for a primary school. St Michael's CofE Primary School is the Church of England primary for Lyme Regis, with 73 pupils on roll against a capacity of 189. It is a small school by any measure, and that shapes almost everything about it.

St Michael's in its present form opened on 1 December 2023 as a new academy within the Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust (DSAT), replacing the earlier St Michael's on the same site. Mr Nick Kiddle is head teacher, and he also leads on special educational needs and music. The school has no inspection grade of its own yet. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were below the England average, from a Year 6 cohort of just 17 pupils. A new school nursery, daily collective worship and a busy programme of after-school clubs are the main talking points for families weighing it up.

Size is the defining fact. With three mixed-age classes, pupils share a classroom with children from other year groups and are known by every adult in the building. The staff list is short enough to read at a glance: Mr Kiddle as head, Mrs Townley as deputy head and teacher of Lister Class, Miss Breeze teaching Langmoor Class, a group of higher-level teaching assistants and teaching assistants, a school cook and a school services support manager. For a child who might be lost in a two-form entry school, that intimacy is the point.

The Christian vision is explicit. Taken from Luke 6:31, the school's guiding line reads "Do to others as you would have them do to you", and it is paired with five school values: respect, honesty, kindness, compassion and trust. Across the trust, St Michael's also shares the Christian values of love, hope and joy. The values are not left on a poster. Pupils plan and lead their own collective worship on them, and in July 2026 children led sessions on compassion, kindness and trust, sharing stories, acting out examples and leading prayers.

Recognition is built around the same values. The school's Stars of the Week are chosen for living them out, and the first awards of the 2026 autumn term went to pupils showing respect and kindness. That consistency matters in a small school: children hear the same language from every adult, in class, in worship and on the playground.

St Michael's describes itself as being on a journey of growth and improvement, which is an honest framing. The school is still young in its current form, is part of a larger trust, and has been investing in its buildings. Families should read it as a school in the middle of change rather than a settled institution with a long record under its present leadership.

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, against an England average of 62%. At the higher standard, 6% reached it in all three subjects, just below the England average of 8%. Neither figure is a disaster, but neither is a strength.

Reading was the stronger area. Some 65% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, with an average scaled score of 102 against the expected standard of 100, and 24% achieved a high score. Maths was weaker: 59% met the expected standard, the average scaled score was 100, and 6% achieved a high score. Grammar, punctuation and spelling followed the same pattern, with 59% at the expected standard and an average scaled score of 100. In writing, 12% of pupils were working at greater depth. Science lagged furthest behind, with 71% meeting the expected standard against an England average of 82%.

On the proprietary FindMySchool ranking built from official data, St Michael's sits 12,590th of 14,951 in England for primary (KS2) results, ranked against all schools in England with published KS2 results, state and independent. That places it below the England average.

Context matters here more than usual. The 2025 cohort was 17 pupils, so each child is worth about six percentage points, and one or two results can move the headline figures sharply from year to year. Around a third of pupils (35%) are eligible for pupil premium funding. The school's own pupil premium plan lists progress in reading, writing and maths among the main challenges for its disadvantaged pupils. Parents should treat one year's figures as a snapshot and ask how the current Year 5 and Year 6 are tracking.

The school's approach to the basics is set out clearly. Phonics in the Early Years, Year 1 and Year 2 runs on Read Write Inc. Maths uses White Rose Maths alongside NumberSense to build number fluency from the earliest stages. For parents, that means early reading and number are taught through recognised, consistent schemes rather than a patchwork of approaches, which matters in mixed-age classes where continuity between years is harder to guarantee.

The wider curriculum covers twelve subjects: art and design, computing, design and technology, English, geography, history, maths, music, PE, PSHE, RE and science. Learning is deliberately linked to Lyme Regis and Dorset, using the school grounds and the local environment. On a stretch of the Jurassic Coast, that gives geography, history and science an obvious local anchor. The school also says it is still reviewing its curriculum, and some of its subject pages may not reflect current provision, so families wanting detail should ask the class teacher directly.

Leaders have set out where they want teaching to go. The pupil premium plan aims for mastery lesson design in core subjects, with small-step planning and a seven-step model for modelling and retrieval. That is a stated goal for the 2024 to 2027 period, not a finished product, and it fits the school's own description of a journey of improvement.

Music is taught weekly from the Early Years to Year 6, in lessons of 30 minutes to an hour, alongside a weekly singing assembly. The curriculum is delivered through Charanga. The school's own music plan is candid that teachers need further guidance, training and support to teach music as effectively as possible.

The obvious local option is The Woodroffe School on Uplyme Road, a non-selective secondary school in Lyme Regis. Woodroffe's open day features in the St Michael's calendar for the autumn term, a small sign of how closely the two schools sit in family planning. The school does not publish a list of secondary destinations, so parents should ask where recent leavers have gone.

Transition is taken seriously for children with additional needs. Where possible, the special educational needs coordinator from the secondary school attends all Year 6 annual reviews, and staff work with other schools to help pupils with SEND move on as smoothly as possible. In a school this size, that kind of individual handover is realistic.

Year 6 ends with its own markers. In May 2026 the class received leavers' hoodies after completing their tests, and in July 2026 Year 6 ran an enterprise project, raising £69.90 from a cake and biscuit sale and spending the profits on books at Lyme Bookshop. These are small things, but they give the final year a sense of occasion and responsibility.

For Reception entry in September, Dorset residents apply through Dorset Council's coordinated admissions process. Families who live outside Dorset must apply through their own county council, by that council's dates. For in-year admissions, the school handles the whole process itself and families should contact the office directly.

Demand is modest in absolute terms. In 2025 there were six applications for five offers, which technically makes the school oversubscribed. With numbers this small, the picture can change from year to year, and a single family moving into or out of town can tip the balance. The school does not publish a last-distance-offered figure, and families should not assume either that a place is guaranteed or that it is out of reach.

Faith is not a barrier to entry. The school's stated policy is that, until it reaches its published admission number, it offers a place to all government-funded applicants irrespective of gender, religion, ethnicity, country of origin, disability or academic ability. That is typical of an inclusive Church of England primary, and families of other faiths or none are welcome. The full admission arrangements and a DSAT admission form are available on the school website, and families should read the current policy for the order in which places are allocated if applications exceed places.

If a place is refused, parents can appeal to an independent panel. They have at least 20 school days to prepare a written appeal, and appeals for the normal Reception round must be heard within 40 school days, or within 30 days for in-year admissions.

Visits are encouraged. The school invites families to look around and will talk through questions by phone and send a welcome pack. Given how much a small school's feel depends on its people, a visit is the best way to judge fit.

Behaviour runs on a simple framework the school calls its STARs expectations, introduced in September 2025. STAR stands for sitting up straight, tracking the adult (Magnet Eyes), asking and answering like an expert, and being ready and respectful. Separate expectations cover manners, such as saying please, thank you and good morning, and walking safely around the building. When expectations are not met, children reflect with an adult, complete missed learning and practise the right behaviour. Children who go above and beyond are recognised for SUPER STAR qualities: speaking up, taking responsibility, aiming high and resilience.

The school describes mental health and wellbeing as fundamental to children's happiness, resilience and ability to learn, and treats wellbeing as a foundation for learning rather than an extra. Spiritual development is woven into the day through collective worship and quiet reflection.

Support for special educational needs is led by Mr Kiddle, with Kirsty Jones named as SENDCo and inclusion coordinator. The school notes that about one in five children have special educational needs at some point in their school life. Pupils who need additional provision are placed on the SEND register, and parents are involved at each step. In 2024 to 2025 the school worked with an educational psychologist, a specialist teacher and a speech therapist, and built strong links with community speech therapists. Plans for 2025 to 2026 include new learning plans for every pupil on the SEND register and the SENDCo completing the NPQSEN qualification.

The site is fully accessible, with a newly installed ramp to the KS2 playground and disabled toilet facilities for KS2. For a family with a child who has physical needs, that is a practical advantage many older primary buildings lack.

Music and performance. Singing is the backbone. Beyond the weekly singing assembly, KS2 pupils perform as a choir, and children in the Early Years and KS1 perform their own Nativity at Christmas in church. Year 4 pupils take part in I Sing Pop, a trust-wide project in which they are taught in a small group before singing as part of a massed choir. Specialist tuition is offered on instruments including violin and ukulele, and the school has used pupil premium and other funding to support tuition and instrument hire where needed. In June 2026, pupils sang at the Busking Festival. For a school of this size, that is a genuine range of performance opportunities.

Sport and swimming. PE is delivered with specialist coaches from Sporting Chance, funded through the PE and sport premium, and a PE teacher from a local secondary school also teaches lessons alongside staff. Every child took part in a block of swimming lessons with specialist swimming teachers, and 71% of Year 6 pupils could swim competently and confidently over 25 metres. On a coastal town's doorstep, that figure matters, and the school has said it wants to keep improving it. Sports Day in June 2026 drew strong support from parents and carers.

Clubs. The after-school programme is fuller than the roll might suggest. The summer 2026 schedule included Art & Craft Beading School Club (Fuse Beads), Performing Arts covering drama, singing and acting for Year 2 to Year 6, Multi Sports Club and Dodgeball Club run by Sporting Chance, a Crafting After-School Club and a Film Night After School Club. The school also lists a Drama Group, Sports Club, Times tables Club and STEM Club among its extra-curricular activities. Club programmes change through the year, so check the current list.

Outdoors and the garden. St Michael's Gardening Club has been planting, watering and caring for the garden in the school's outdoor learning space. For young children, that kind of hands-on responsibility is often where confidence grows fastest.

The PFA. An active Parent Friends Association runs school discos and summer and Christmas fetes, and its fundraising pays towards swimming, books, IT equipment, celebration gifts and leavers' hoodies. It also runs second-hand uniform sales.

Church links are close and practical. Collective worship happens daily and is led by the head teacher, staff, children, governors and visitors from local churches. Every Wednesday afternoon, governors and parish volunteers lead Open the Book sessions, bringing Bible stories to life through drama. St Michael's Church and other local churches join the school to celebrate Harvest, Christingle, Christmas, Easter and Mother's Day. Religious education is a core subject, and the school is supported by the Salisbury Diocesan Board of Education.

The parish church itself gives pupils a remarkable piece of local history. There has been a church on the site since AD 774, when the land was granted to the monks of Sherborne, and the building was rebuilt by the Normans around 1120. Mary Anning is buried in the churchyard with her brother Joseph, and she is commemorated in a stained glass window given by members of the Geological Society of London. For a school on the Jurassic Coast, it is hard to imagine a better starting point for a lesson on science and history.

The biggest recent change is the arrival of a school nursery. The school won funding to create a school-based nursery, with building works covering the front of the school, internal works in the KS1 area, and new outdoor decking and outdoor spaces. The school now describes a significant refurbishment and a brand-new school nursery, so younger children can start at St Michael's before Reception. The nursery has its own section of the school website, including a fees page and a register-your-interest form. Families interested in a nursery place should check fees and government-funded hours directly with the school.

The music plan also mentions play and stay sessions in the Children Centre on the school site, where local music groups offer sessions for pre-school children.

The school day runs from 8.50am to 12.15pm, with a 15-minute morning break, and from 1.00pm to 3.20pm, a total of 32.5 hours a week.

Wraparound care is available. Breakfast Club runs from 8.15am to 8.50am and includes breakfast, and After School Club runs from 3.20pm to 5.00pm, with some activity-based sessions. In the summer 2026 schedule Breakfast Club was priced at an introductory £1.00 a session, booked seven days in advance, with limited places; check current prices and availability with the school.

Meals are freshly made in the school kitchen using locally sourced ingredients where possible, ordered seven days in advance and paid for by bank transfer. Reception to Year 2 pupils receive universal infant free school meals, and packed lunches are allowed. The school has a no-nut policy. Uniform is a red logo sweatshirt, jumper or cardigan with grey skirt, pinafore or trousers and a white polo shirt, and PFA second-hand sales help with cost. As a state school, there are no tuition fees.

The school does not publish transport or bus information, so families living outside the town should ask about travel arrangements.

• No inspection grade of its own yet. St Michael's has not yet been inspected by Ofsted since it opened on 1 December 2023. Before this school opened, the predecessor school (URN 113851) was judged Requires Improvement by Ofsted in April 2022. Families are choosing on the school's current leadership, results and their own impressions rather than an independent current judgement.
• Results below the England average. In 2025, 53% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% across England, and science was further behind. With a cohort of 17, one year says little on its own, but ask how current cohorts are progressing.
• Very small classes of mixed ages. Three mixed-age classes mean close relationships and flexibility, but also a small peer group and teaching that spans more than one year group. Some children thrive in that setting; others want a larger pool of friends.
• A genuinely Christian ethos. Daily worship, weekly Open the Book sessions and close parish links run through the week. Admissions are open regardless of faith, but families uncomfortable with regular worship and explicit religious teaching should consider whether it suits them.

St Michael's is a small, values-led Church of England primary in a remarkable setting, working through a period of real change. It is now part of DSAT, has a head teacher who leads on SEND and music himself, has added a new school nursery, and offers more music, swimming and clubs than its size would suggest. The inclusive admissions policy, full site accessibility and close SEND involvement are genuine strengths.

The caveats are real. There is no inspection judgement yet for the school in its present form. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were below the England average, although from a cohort of only 17. It is best suited to families in Lyme Regis who want a small, close-knit primary where every child is known, who are comfortable with daily Christian worship, and who are willing to judge a school on its direction as much as its record. Families wanting a proven, high-attaining primary will want to see the next round of results first.