Chrishall Holy Trinity and St Nicholas CofE (Aided) Primary School and Pre-School Review 2026: Small Village School, Big Outcomes

Outdoor learning is not treated as a once-a-term treat here, it is built into the rhythm of a small village primary with an on-site pre-school. The results are striking. In 2024, 93% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics combined, well above the England average of 62%. At the higher standard, 31% achieved greater depth compared to 8% across England.

This performance places the school well above England average (top 10%). It is ranked 762nd in England and 1st in the Royston local area for primary outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). For families weighing up small-school warmth versus academic stretch, the evidence here suggests you can get both.

Leadership sits with Mrs Tracey Bratley, who is named as headteacher in the most recent Ofsted documentation, alongside a wider staff team that reflects the realities of a small setting, including mixed-age classes and staff wearing more than one hat.

The school’s size shapes almost everything parents will notice. Relationships matter because they have to. Older pupils mentoring younger ones is embedded as a normal expectation rather than an occasional initiative, and pupils are given structured leadership roles so that responsibility does not only sit with Year 6. The tone is calm and purposeful, with clear behavioural expectations reinforced through the school’s “Super Seven Rules” and a shared language around conduct.

There is also a defined Christian identity. The school’s vision, Let your light shine (Matthew 5:16), is used as a practical anchor for wellbeing, community contribution and collective worship. The most recent SIAMS report (dated 16 January 2025) describes a culture where pupils and adults are supported to flourish, with justice and responsibility visible in pupil-led actions, charitable work, and reflective discussion.

Parents considering faith schools often ask how “Church of England” translates into daily experience. Here, it shows up in collective worship that follows the Christian calendar, close links with the local church, and a curriculum approach in religious education that explicitly covers diverse worldviews. At the same time, the school positions itself as community-facing, with practical support for families and an emphasis on inclusion, including training and shared approaches for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

If you want one headline figure, it is this. In 2024, 93% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics combined, compared to 62% across England. That gap is large enough to be meaningful even in a small cohort.

The scaled scores reinforce the message. Reading sits at 109 and mathematics at 110, both above the England benchmark of 100. Grammar, punctuation and spelling is also strong at 109. Taken together, the combined reading, GPS and maths total score is 328.

High attainment is not confined to “expected”. At the higher standard, 31% reached greater depth in reading, writing and maths, compared with 8% in England. In mathematics, half of pupils achieved the higher score measure, and in GPS the higher score measure is 36%. These figures align with an academically ambitious core, not just a small uplift around the threshold.

Rankings contextualise this performance for families comparing options locally. Ranked 762nd in England and 1st in the Royston local area for primary outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), the school sits well above England average (top 10%). This is the kind of profile that often triggers strong demand in rural settings where there are fewer nearby alternatives.

The teaching model reflects both ambition and pragmatism. In a small school, staff cannot always have a separate subject lead for every area, so curriculum coherence depends on clear planning and consistent routines. External review points to leaders choosing high-quality schemes of work and training to support staff workload and ensure consistency across mixed-age classes.

Reading looks like a deliberate priority. Staff have been trained in phonics, books are matched carefully to the phonics programme, and pupils are encouraged to read widely, supported by family engagement and child-led initiatives such as the book swap overseen by the eco-squad. A named example from school life, the creative craft book club, illustrates the broader approach, reading is treated as something to discuss and create around, not only a decoding skill.

Mathematics is similarly framed around secure understanding. Scaled scores suggest pupils are confident with core number work and problem-solving, and the most able pupils are being extended at a level that shows up in the higher score measures. The implication for families is straightforward. If your child enjoys being stretched, they are unlikely to run out of runway academically.

One area to watch, particularly for parents of meticulous learners, is how marking and checking are handled. A stated development focus has been improving how teachers identify misconceptions and correct errors so that misunderstandings do not become embedded.

For most families, transition planning matters as much as headline results. As a rural village primary, pupils typically progress into local secondary options across county borders, depending on where a family lives and the admissions authority they apply through. The school explicitly signposts that applications are made through the local authority of residence, which is a practical but important detail in a location where Essex, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire can all be relevant.

What the school appears to do well is prepare pupils socially for that move. Leadership roles across the school, mentoring expectations, and structured approaches to responsibility create the kinds of habits that support pupils when they enter a larger environment. Parents who want a strong academic grounding but do not want their child to be “unknown” in the system often find small primaries particularly helpful at this stage.

Because this is a primary school, there is no published sixth form or university destinations pipeline to consider. The relevant question is instead whether pupils leave Year 6 as confident readers, capable mathematicians, and socially ready students. On the evidence available, that is a reasonable expectation.

This is a voluntary aided Church of England school, which matters because it shapes oversubscription criteria and the paperwork required for some applicants. Reception entry is part of the normal primary admissions round, with applications made to the local authority in which you live, by the national closing date, typically 15 January. The school’s own admissions guidance describes the process opening in early November and closing mid-January.

For September 2026 entry, Essex County Council states that applications closed on 15 January 2026 and that late applications can still be made but are processed after on-time submissions.

Oversubscription criteria include looked-after and previously looked-after children, siblings, and specific parish-related categories, including residence within named ecclesiastical parishes and the Icknield Way Villages. There is also provision for church attendance evidence under a later criterion, supported via a supplementary information form.

Two practical implications follow.

First, faith and parish-linked rules can be decisive when demand is high. Families who are not connected to the relevant parishes should read the criteria carefully and understand where they sit.

Second, having a child in the pre-school does not automatically guarantee a Reception place. The admissions policy is explicit on this point, so parents should avoid assuming an automatic pathway, and should apply through the required route and timescales regardless of current attendance.

Demand indicators suggest competition, even if the raw numbers reflect small cohorts. In the most recent published admissions figures available here, there were 15 applications for 8 offers, which is around 1.9 applications per place. Oversubscription, in a setting with limited published admission numbers, can move quickly from “possible” to “hard” depending on the year group size in the village.

For in-year applications, the admissions policy states that, from 1 April 2022, applications should be made directly to the school rather than through the local authority process.

In a small school, pastoral systems succeed or fail on consistency. The clearest indicator here is that pupils are given concrete tools for self-regulation early. A colour-based feelings chart is used in the early years so children can label emotions, and that shared language is then reinforced as pupils move through the school. The outcome is a culture where behaviour in lessons supports learning and pupils can recover quickly when things go wrong.

Bullying is described as uncommon, with pupils confident that concerns will be investigated thoroughly. For parents, the more meaningful point is not the claim itself but the structure behind it, visible rules, shared language, mentoring across age groups, and a sense that adults and pupils are expected to repair relationships, not simply “move on”.

Support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities is framed around partnership with parents and staff training in identification and appropriate strategies. That matters because a small school can sometimes struggle to maintain specialist expertise. Here, the emphasis is on practical training and close progress monitoring so that support is tailored to need rather than being generic.

A final pastoral feature worth noting is the presence of counselling support referenced in school life. For families looking for emotional support that is more than “pastoral conversations”, this can be reassuring, particularly in a setting where children may have fewer peer groups to move between if friendships wobble.

The most distinctive strand is outdoor and environmental learning. Forest School is presented as a structured progression taught across year groups, using woodland and outdoor space to build practical skills and confidence. The examples given include fire-based cooking, story work around nature, and cross-curricular links where Forest School supports class topics rather than sitting separately as an enrichment add-on.

For pupils who learn best when they can move, build and collaborate, this approach can be transformative. It also has a secondary benefit: it gives children additional contexts to practise teamwork and leadership in mixed-age groups, which often strengthens social confidence in small schools.

Clubs and pupil-led initiatives reinforce the broader character education agenda. Named examples include the eco-squad, which runs a second-hand book swap to encourage reading and sustainability, alongside activities referenced as part of wider development such as choir, football and yoga. The creative craft book club is another specific feature, combining reading and artwork so that literacy extends into creativity and discussion.

Parents also benefit from an active community layer. The Friends of Chrishall School is structured as a registered charity focused on family-oriented events and fundraising to enhance the learning environment. In small schools, this kind of parent-body activity can make a visible difference to trips, resources and enrichment opportunities over time.

This is a state school with no tuition fees. Families should still budget for the usual extras, including uniform, trips, and optional clubs, plus paid wraparound where used.

The school day runs with registers taken at 09:00 and the end of day at 15:15. Breakfast club operates Monday to Friday from 07:30 to 08:45, and the published cost is £4.00 per morning, with a sibling discount described for additional children.

School lunches are available as hot meals or rolls. The published cost is £2.75 per day, and pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to universal free school meals.

Drop-off and collection are managed with tight parking expectations. Parents are advised that there is no parking in the school grounds during drop-off and pick-up windows, and that permission is given to use the Red Cow car park at those times. In a rural village setting, this practical detail matters, particularly for families juggling multiple drop-offs.

After-school clubs run after 15:15, and after-school provision is referenced via an external sports provider. Because the timings and booking arrangements can change, parents should check the current term’s wraparound offer before relying on it for workday planning.

• Small-school realities. Mixed-age classes and shared staff responsibilities can be excellent for confidence and peer mentoring, but they also mean less subject specialisation than in larger primaries. If your child needs very structured, single-year-group teaching, ask how lessons are adapted by age within each class.

• Marking and misconception checking. A stated area for development has been improving how teachers spot and correct mistakes so that misconceptions do not persist. For most children this will be addressed through routine classroom practice, but parents of very able pupils may want to understand how feedback is managed day to day.

• Faith-linked oversubscription criteria. As a voluntary aided Church of England school, parish and church-related categories can influence admissions when there are more applicants than places. Families should read the criteria closely and understand where they sit before setting expectations.

• Wraparound capacity. Breakfast club has a published cap of 16 places and operates a waiting list if requests exceed places. If wraparound is essential, confirm availability early.

This is a high-performing village primary that combines strong academic outcomes with an outdoor learning identity and a clearly articulated Church of England ethos. The results profile suggests pupils are well stretched, not merely supported to reach the expected standard. It will suit families who value small-school relationships, responsibility and leadership opportunities, and a curriculum that makes real use of outdoor space. The main constraint is admissions in a small setting, particularly where faith and parish-linked criteria can affect priority, so families should plan early and check the detail before relying on a place.