St Mary’s Church of England Infant School, Witney Review 2026: Historic setting, calm routines, strong early reading

As an infant school, St Mary’s does not publish the Key Stage 2 results that many parents use for easy comparison across primary schools, because pupils move on before the Year 6 tests. That makes the quality of early reading and the strength of curriculum sequencing especially important, because these are the foundations pupils carry into junior school.

The most recent inspection evidence points to a curriculum that is planned in small, cumulative steps, with particular strength in early reading. Phonics starts from the beginning of Reception, and the expectation is that pupils who fall behind are identified quickly and supported to catch up.

For parents, the practical implication is straightforward. If your priority is a confident start in reading, writing, number, and vocabulary, the school’s published approach suggests a clear emphasis on those building blocks, rather than rushing into surface coverage of topics.

Curriculum intent is explicit on the website. The overarching aim is grounded in the school’s Christian vision and is framed around helping children continue their learning journey, building knowledge and habits step by step.

In the classroom, the inspection report describes teachers as having strong subject knowledge and regularly revisiting learning so pupils can make links across what they have been taught. That matters at infant stage, where the difference between “covered” and “embedded” is often the difference between a child who can do something once and a child who can do it confidently a month later.

One improvement point from the 2024 inspection is also relevant for parents to ask about. It highlights that staff do not always check and address gaps in some pupils’ understanding carefully enough before introducing new work, which can mean some pupils move on too quickly. When you visit, it is worth asking how leaders are tightening assessment checks in lessons, particularly for pupils who are quiet, compliant, or good at masking uncertainty.

Because this is an infant school, transition is part of the model. The school’s own “About” page references a close relationship with The Batt CE Primary School, and the wider partnership information for families describes shared arrangements across the two sites for younger year groups, including practical movement between sites for some children.

The key question for most families is how seamless Year 3 feels. A strong infant school should send pupils up to juniors with reading fluency, basic number confidence, classroom routines, and the resilience to handle a bigger site and older pupils. St Mary’s emphasis on early reading, behaviour expectations, and personal development is designed to support that step up.

If you are comparing pathways, use the FindMySchool Local Hub and Comparison Tool to look at likely junior and primary destinations side by side, and to sanity check what “good transition” looks like in outcomes later on.

Demand is clearly high in the most recent admissions snapshot provided: 94 applications for 22 offers, which is about 4.27 applications per place, and the school is marked as oversubscribed. (This refers to the Reception entry route data supplied.)

Admissions for Reception are handled through Oxfordshire County Council, and the school’s own admissions page also points families to the council route. For September 2026 entry, the published deadline for on time applications is 15 January 2026. Oxfordshire’s published timeline also states National Offer Day as 16 April 2026 for Reception places.

For families trying to judge realism, oversubscription at infant stage usually means you need to understand the oversubscription criteria and how they interact with where you live. St Mary’s publishes its admissions policies and states that applications are considered against the oversubscription criteria in the relevant policy. Use the FindMySchoolMap Search to check your precise home to school distance and to keep your expectations grounded, particularly if you are weighing a house move.

The school frames personal development as a priority alongside academics, and the inspection evidence supports that pupils learn about diversity, difference, and how to keep themselves and others safe. For infant age children, that tends to show up in how adults handle friendship issues, how quickly worries are addressed, and whether expectations are consistent across classrooms and playground.

Behaviour routines are also described as clear and high expectation, with calm movement around school and attentive listening in lessons. For many families, that is the “hidden” selling point at infant stage, because calm classrooms create more learning time and usually reduce the stress children bring home.

Clubs matter at infant stage when they are practical and age suitable. St Mary’s has specific, named examples in the published materials, including yoga, tennis, and a mud club mentioned among extracurricular options.

Trips are also used as curriculum enrichment, with examples including visits to Oxford and Warwick Castle noted in the inspection report, alongside local heritage learning connected to the town centre setting. The implication for parents is that learning is not confined to worksheets and reading books. It is also anchored in experiences that give children vocabulary and context, which can be particularly valuable for pupils who learn best through doing.

The published school day is clear. Doors open at 8.30am; registration is 8.40am; pick up is 3.10pm, with parents waiting on the playground near classrooms. Lunch is 12.00 to 1.00pm, with free hot school meals available for infants, or packed lunch as an alternative.

Wraparound care is available, and the website describes Breakfast Club drop offs at 7.40am or 8.00am, with After School Club running until 5.30pm, plus a set snack time. Practical logistics are especially relevant in this partnership model, because some wraparound provision is described as operating via the partner site with supervised movement between sites for children who attend.

• Competition for places. The admissions snapshot shows 94 applications for 22 offers, and the school is oversubscribed. For many families, the limiting factor is admission rather than school fit.

• Infant only, so transition planning matters. Your child will move on after Year 2, so you are effectively choosing a pathway. Ask how the school manages transition, especially for children who are anxious about change.

• Teaching consistency in checking understanding. The most recent inspection flags that staff do not always check and address gaps before moving on. Ask what has changed since May 2024, and how teachers now spot pupils who are slipping behind quietly.

• Faith character is real. Daily collective worship is part of the day. Many families value that; others prefer a more secular approach.

St Mary’s suits families who want a small, town centre infant school with a clear Christian vision, tight routines, and a strong emphasis on early reading and behaviour. The historic setting and the school’s published approach to personal development give it a distinctive identity within Witney. The main challenge is securing a place, so families should treat admissions criteria and timelines as seriously as the educational offer itself.