Primary
St James' Church of England Primary School
Merestones Road, Cheltenham, GL50 2RS
Key facts
- Phase
- Primary
- Type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Intake
- Mixed
- Pupils
- 408 of 420 places
- Pupils per teacher
- 20.5
- Local authority
- Gloucestershire
- Religious character
- Yes
- Trust
- THE DIOCESE OF GLOUCESTER ACADEMIES TRUST
- Diocese
- Diocese of Gloucester
Staffing23/24
- Teachers (FTE)
- 20.4
- All staff (FTE)
- 32.5
- Pupils per adult
- 12.9
- Pupils
- 419
Staff are counted as full-time equivalents in the November school workforce census, so the pupil figure here is that census’s own and will differ a little from the roll above, which is counted in January.
Ofsted
Last inspected October 2023
Good
- Behaviour and attitudesOutstanding
- Early yearsOutstanding
- Leadership and governanceGood
- Personal developmentOutstanding
- Quality of educationGood
Inspected under the previous framework, which used its own four-point scale. Ofsted now publishes a report card grading several areas separately, so these grades are not directly comparable with a recent inspection’s.
SafeguardingMet
Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)SATs results
59%
3 points below the Cheltenham average (62% across 40 schools)
106.0
0.4 below the Cheltenham average (106.4 across 40 schools)
24th of 41 by our score, among the primary schools in Cheltenham we can score - 48 in total, the rest without enough published data. Local and same-phase on purpose: a national table mostly measures who attends.
All published measures2024/2025
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Average maths score | 105 |
| Average reading score | 106 |
| Reading, writing and maths | 59% |
| Working at a higher standard | 11% |
From the Department for Education. Measures are published per year and suppressed where a cohort is too small, so some schools show fewer. There are no results for 2019/20 or 2020/21, when exams and assessments were cancelled.
Results over time3 years
Each measure on its own scale, over every year we hold.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 62% |
| 23/24 | 65% |
| 24/25 | 59% |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 106.0 |
| 23/24 | 107.0 |
| 24/25 | 106.0 |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 103.0 |
| 23/24 | 105.0 |
| 24/25 | 105.0 |
Merestones Road, Cheltenham, GL50 2RS
Admissions
How to apply (opens in a new tab)
You apply through your council, not the school - even for academies and free schools. Applications close on 15 January, the year before starting.
Gloucestershire admissions (opens in a new tab)
The council publishes the oversubscription criteria and last year’s offer distances, which is the closest thing to knowing your chances.
If you are refused a place (opens in a new tab)
You can appeal, and you can join a waiting list at the same time. Accept whatever offer you get first - declining it can leave you with no place at all.
This school’s own admissions (opens in a new tab)
Schools that set their own criteria - faith schools, grammars, academies - publish them on their own site.
Contact
- Headteacher
- Caryn Smith
- Address
- Merestones Road, Cheltenham, GL50 2RS
- Telephone
- 01242516836