All-throughIndependent · Other independent school

Culford School

Culford, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, IP28 6TX ·

Independent inspectionMethodist

At a glance

An independent Methodist all-through school for ages 1–19 in Bury St. Edmunds. As an independent school, it is inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), outside Ofsted's state-school data. Results aren't compared with the England average for independent schools, as many take qualifications the DfE's measures don't count.

Ages: 1–19
Pupils: 863
Gender: Mixed
Sixth form: Yes
Admissions: Set by school
Local authority: Suffolk
Headteacher: Claire Bentley
Opened: Sept 1980
Boarding: Boarding school
Nursery: Has nursery classes

School website 01284728615 Explore the area

Inspection

Independent schools are inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). These inspections are not part of Ofsted's state-school data.

Find the inspection report

Exam results

Department for Education performance tables

GCSE results, 2024/25 · 108 pupils

Attainment 8

31.3

England 46.1

Grade 5+ Eng & maths

England 45.4%

Grade 4+ Eng & maths

1.9%

England 64.8%

Progress 8

–

Not published

This school

31.3

Suffolk

42.8

England

46.1

Attainment 8 over time

Many independent schools take qualifications (such as IGCSEs) that don't count in DfE performance measures, so these figures can significantly understate their results. Ask the school for its own results.

Progress 8 isn't published for 2024/25 because those pupils had no KS2 test results (tests were cancelled in 2020). Exams were not held in 2019/20 or 2020/21.

Admissions

Demand for places and how places are allocated

Search for your address on the map to see straight-line distances to schools.

Independent schools run their own admissions (often with entrance assessments), so they are not part of council application data.

Catchment area

We don't have an official catchment boundary for this school. Many schools don't have one, and few councils publish boundaries as open data. We don't estimate catchments. Check the school's admissions policy or the council's admissions booklet.

Last distance offered

Not published nationally. Many councils publish the furthest distance offered for each school in their annual allocation reports. Past distances vary year to year with demand and sibling numbers, so they are not a guarantee.

How places are allocated: you apply through your home council. When a school has more applicants than places, it applies its published oversubscription criteria in order. These usually start with looked-after children, then siblings, then catchment or distance; faith schools may prioritise church attendance. Children with an EHC plan naming the school are admitted first. Apply on GOV.UK

Pupils

School census 2024/25

Pupils

895

Capacity

885

98% full

Girls / boys

45/55

Mixed

Eligible for free school meals (last 6 years)0%
English as an additional language–
SEN support21.9%
Education, Health and Care plan0%
The black tick shows the median for state-funded all-through schools in England.